The relationship between symptom burden and systemic inflammation differs between male and female athletes following concussion

Background Inflammation appears to be an important component of concussion pathophysiology. However, its relationship to symptom burden is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers measured in the blood of male and female athletes following a sport-related concussion (SRC). Results Forty athletes (n = 20 male, n = 20 female) from nine interuniversity sport teams at a single institution provided blood samples within one week of an SRC. Twenty inflammatory biomarkers were quantitated by immunoassay. The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool version 5 (SCAT-5) was used to evaluate symptoms. Partial least squares (PLS) analyses were used to evaluate the relationship(s) between biomarkers and symptoms. In males, a positive correlation between interferon (IFN)-gamma and symptom severity was observed following SRC. The relationship between IFN-gamma and symptoms was significant among all symptom clusters, with cognitive symptoms displaying the largest effect. In females, a significant negative relationship was observed between symptom severity and cytokines IFN-gamma, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and myeloperoxidase (MPO); a positive relationship was observed between symptom severity and MCP-4. Inflammatory mediators were significantly associated with all symptom clusters in females; the somatic symptom cluster displayed the largest effect. Conclusion These results provide supportive evidence of a divergent relationship between inflammation and symptom burden in male and female athletes following SRC. Future investigations should be cognizant of the potentially sex-specific pathophysiology underlying symptom presentation.