Mild concussion can cause problems

People who have had a mild concussion can still experience related health problems eight years later, new research has found.

The New Zealand study followed 150 adults after they suffered a mild traumatic brain injury and found that ongoing mental health conditions – including depression – persisted long after their injury.

Women with repeated concussions were affected more when it came to higher anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to men with repetitive concussions and women who had only one concussion.

According to ACC about 1200-1500 Kiwis suffer mild traumatic brain injury each year, commonly referred to as concussion. Although sport is the cause of between 20% and 30% of cases, other common causes are falls, driving accidents and assaults.

The research was a collaboration between academics at University of Waikato (UoW), Auckland University of Technology and University of Auckland, and aimed to examine the longterm outcomes of mild traumatic brain injury in men and women.

‘‘Although lots of studies have been done about short-term outcomes, up to a year or two, we don’t know much about the longterm outcomes,’’ said co-author professor Nicola Starkey, of UoW’s School of Psychology. ‘‘Until quite recently, concussion was thought to be a mild injury that people recovered from quite quickly. Most people do, but some people have longer-term effects.

‘‘We have been following this cohort of people to find out what their outcomes are.’’

Post-concussive symptoms vary but can include: Cognitive (forgetfulness, poor concentration, difficulty thinking) Somatic (nausea, fatigue, dizziness) Emotional (irritability, feeling depressed, feeling frustrated) ‘‘Eight years post-injury people were still having problems,’’ said Starkey.

The findings suggest ‘‘women may be at greater risk of poor long-term outcomes post-mild traumatic brain injury, particularly if they have a history of previous injuries’’. ‘‘We don’t actually know why, but we do know that another concussion within a short time period of a previous one can actually make things quite a lot worse because maybe the brain has not had time to recover,’’ she said.

And the new research concluded ‘‘the lack of intervention or treatment for prior injuries may have meant that another injury was sustained before full recovery, leading to a greater symptom burden’’.

‘‘Alternatively, undiagnosed psychiatric disorders (anxiety, depression, PTSD) may contribute

to the higher symptom burden and longer recovery.’’

In January, research from overseas showed that three quarters of domestic violence victims may suffer a brain injury.

And data obtained by Stuff in 2018 showed the number of concussions lodged with ACC for junior rugby players was at a five-year high across nine of the 13 regions.

Professor Nick Draper, of University of Canterbury’s School of Health Sciences, welcomed the findings of the new study.

‘‘This type of research is vital in regard to deepening our understanding of concussion, particularly as it relates to differences in outcomes for males and females,’’ he said.

Draper is currently undertaking worldfirst research into the effectiveness of protective headgear in rugby, with both male and female players involved in the study.

‘‘It is for this reason that our Christchurch prospective study is focused on male and female players and teams, albeit that our focus is on assessing differences in collisions in rugby for teenage players.’’