Concussion in athletes can affect mental and physical processes later in life

Researchers have found the first evidence that athletes who were concussed during their earlier sporting life show a decline in their mental and physical processes more than 30 years later.

The research, published online Jan. 28 in Brain, compared 19 healthy, former athletes who had sustained concussions more than 30 years ago with 21 healthy, former athletes with no history of concussion. The study found that those who had been concussed only once or twice in their early adulthood showed a decline in their attention and memory and a slowing of some of their movements compared to athletes who had no concussion.

“This study shows that the effects of sports concussions in early adulthood persist beyond 30 years post-concussion and that it can cause cognitive and motor function alterations as the athletes age,” Louis De Beaumont, a graduate student at the Centre de recherche en neuropsychologie et cognition, Université de Montréal, Canada, stated in a press release. “In the light of these findings, athletes should be better informed about the cumulative and persistent effects of sports concussion on mental and physical processes so that they know about the risks associated with returning to their sport.”

The former athletes answered questionnaires on their general health and history of concussion. Their mental and physical processes were investigated with a variety of tests. Results showed that, relative to former athletes with no history of concussion, those who had sustained their last sports concussion more than 30 years ago had: lower performance on neuropsychological tests of episodic memory and response inhibition; significantly delayed and attenuated responses to unpredictable stimuli; significantly prolonged cortical silent periods; and significantly reduced movement velocity.

According to the investigators, the abnormalities found in the 30-year post-concussion athletes resemble those reported previously in athletes tested at 3 years post-concussion. The implication is these abnormalities may be an “early and long-lasting manifestation among former athletes who sustained sports concussions in early childhood,” they wrote.

Additionally, a number of the findings – specifically in episodic memory and attention/executive functions – suggest that former athletes with a history of concussion are potentially more sensitive to mild cognitive impairment and early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

“It is important to mention that the participants selected were healthy, functional and maintain a very active lifestyle despite these small changes in cognition and motor functions,” De Beaumont noted in the release. “Future studies that follow these former athletes with concussion as they get older are necessary if we are to verify whether sports concussions sustained early in life can lead to more severe deteriorations in their mental and physical functions.”

Reference:

Brain function decline in healthy retired athletes who sustained their last sports concussion in early adulthood. Brain. Published online under advance access. doi:10.1093/brain/awn347.