Sport Contact Level Affects Post-Concussion Neurocognitive Performance in Young Athletes

Patterns and predictors of concussion symptom presentations in NCAA athletes

Sport-related concussion (SRC) is a complex injury, and SRCs are notably prevalent among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes. We analysed SRCs and associated exposure data collected within the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program during 2014-2019. A total of 1,709 SRCs were reported with complete symptom profiles during the study period (Women's sports n = 499; Men's sports n = 1,210). Event type and academic class year most commonly predicted specific symptom presentations among athletes in men's sports, while symptom presentation among athletes in women's sports was most commonly predicted by class year and sport classification. We observed 78 and 69 significant pairwise symptom dependencies in men's and women's sports athletes, respectively; odds of longer symptom resolution time were higher with greater counts of symptoms with strongest cross-domain associations. Our findings highlight several contextual predictors of specific symptom presentations and identify parsimonious symptom subsets that may indicate protracted recovery among men's and women's sports athletes.

Developing a conceptual framework to identify and classify sources of parental stress following pediatric concussion

OBJECTIVES

To create a conceptual framework that classifies the various stresses parents experience following their child's concussion.

METHODS

Twelve parents of children with concussion completed a semi-structured interview with the lead author. Questions broadly focused on post-concussion stress, with specific probes for caregiving responsibilities, concussion knowledge, and athletic participation. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Ten mothers and 2 fathers participated. Five themes stemmed from our analysis: 1) Concussion Knowledge (central theme): stressors related to sources of concussion information; 2) Child Health Factors: stressors related to injury and illness, including concussion; 3) Activity Factors: stressors related to academic and athletic performance; 4) Parent-Injured Child Relationship Factors: stressors related to providing care to the child; and 5) Personal Factors: stressors unrelated to the concussion (e.g. family, social, career, etc.). Child Health Factors was most frequently identified as the primary stressor (n = 9).

CONCLUSIONS

Sources of parental stress were varied following pediatric concussion. Issues relating to the child's post-injury dysfunction and the uncertain recovery from concussion were key stressors identified by parents. Moving forward, this framework can be used to ground the development of specific parental stress screening tools and interventions, which may benefit the parent's mental health and the child's clinical recovery.

Alterations to the gut microbiome after sport-related concussion in a collegiate football players cohort: A pilot study

Concussions, both single and repetitive, cause brain and body alterations in athletes during contact sports. The role of the brain-gut connection and changes in the microbiota have not been well established after sports-related concussions or repetitive subconcussive impacts. We recruited 33 Division I Collegiate football players and collected blood, stool, and saliva samples at three time points throughout the athletic season: mid-season, following the last competitive game (post-season), and after a resting period in the off-season. Additional samples were collected from four athletes that suffered from a concussion. 16S rRNA sequencing of the gut microbiome revealed a decrease in abundance for two bacterial species, Eubacterium rectale, and Anaerostipes hadrus, after a diagnosed concussion. No significant differences were found regarding the salivary microbiome. Serum biomarker analysis shows an increase in GFAP blood levels in athletes during the competitive season. Additionally, S100β and SAA blood levels were positively correlated with the abundance of Eubacterium rectale species among the group of athletes that did not suffer a diagnosed concussion during the sports season. These findings provide initial evidence that detecting changes in the gut microbiome may help to improve concussion diagnosis following head injury.

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A longitudinal study following college football athletes across a sports season.

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Nanopore 16S rRNA sequencing of gut microbiome reveals changes after head injury.

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Serum biomarker GFAP increased during the competitive period of the season.

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S100β and SAA blood levels were positively correlated with Eubacterium rectale.

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Gut microbiota is suggested as a future biomarker for diagnosis following head injury.