If You've Had a 'Mild' Concussion, You Could Still Have Symptoms Years Later

Many people will experience a concussion at some point during their life, whether that is from contact sport or an unfortunate fall. The injury can cause long term health impacts for a portion of those who experience it.

A new study from a team of researchers across New Zealand has found that people who have had a mild concussion are more likely to have ongoing symptoms, depression, and problems with work than people who have never had one.

It is not to say that all people who experience a concussion will have ongoing symptoms, however it highlights that concussion can be a really life-changing event to those people who do not.

It is estimated that more than 10 million people experience a traumatic brain injury each year, with 70 percent of these being classified as mild. The effects of moderate and severe TBI are well documented, but much less is known about the long-term outcomes of mild TBI.

Over a third of the participants with mild TBI reported that they were still affected by the brain injury they had eight years ago.

A concussion can happen when your head collides with something, such as a steering wheel, or when your body rapidly changes direction.

The damage is not caused by the collision but by the sudden, extreme changes in movement that stretch out the ends of the axons in the brain. Loss of consciousness, headaches, nausea, blurred vision, and mood changes are some of the symptoms that can be caused by this.

The study looked at all cases of traumatic brain injury in New Zealand and Hamilton between 2010 and 2011.

The team identified 1,298 people with mild TBI, but only 343 completed the original survey and 141 completed the follow-up survey eight years later. The team matched 151 people with an equal number of controls who had never had a concussion.

The people who had a concussion reported more problems. It's surprising that a third of the participants believed they were still impacted by their concussion eight years later. Post-concussion syndrome, anxiety, and other long-term symptoms were not mild, with the questionnaires suggesting that some people had it.

Women who had had multiple concussions were the worst outcomes.

The mild TBI group reported more post-concussion symptoms than the TBI-free group. The team wrote in their paper that females with mild traumatic brain injury were twice as likely to exceed clinical cut-offs for post-concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms compared to the other groups.

Twice the proportion of women with mild repetitive TBI exceeded the clinical cut-offs for post-concussion, anxiety and symptoms compared with males.

The researchers suggest that better injury management and treating mental health issues can help lower long-term consequences. It is a reminder to protect your head.

The research has been published.