What is it about?
Depression and anxiety are important factors to consider in concussion management. We found that athletes who report co-occurring depression/anxiety at baseline (i.e., prior to injury) perform comparable to athletes who recently sustained concussion on a neuropsychological battery. These findings highlight the importance of screening for depression and anxiety in college athletes as these factors may skew neuropsychological test interpretation.
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Why is it important?
Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent in young adults and may influence performance on common concussion assessment/management tools. Thus, the presence of depression and anxiety may skew future comparisons in a way that may result in an athlete being returned to sport too quickly or withheld unduly. Therefore, it is important to screen for depression and anxiety at baseline to better account for the possible influence of these factors at future comparisons.
Perspectives
These results highlight the magnitude of the effects that depression and anxiety can have on college athletes. We also believe that this work is important for advancing individualized approaches to concussion management. While there are limitations to serial testing (i.e., baseline testing followed by future post-concussion assessments), these results suggest that athletes with pre-existing conditions that may be comorbid with concussion - like depression and anxiety - should complete baseline testing in order to have more accurate comparisons if they are to sustain future concussion. As such, we recommend that athletes are routinely screened for depression and anxiety during pre-season evaluations so that appropriate recommendations and referrals may be provided.
Garrett Thomas
Pennsylvania State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Affective comorbidity or concussion: Can we tell the difference?, Translational Issues in Psychological Science, December 2022, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/tps0000344.
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