Obesity Associated With Prolonged Symptoms After Mild TBI

THURSDAY, July 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity is associated with increased inflammation and prolonged symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), according to a study published online June 27 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

Shawn R. Eagle, Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues examined the role of obesity in recovery of symptoms, functional outcome, and inflammatory blood biomarkers after mTBI in a prospective study of patients with acute mTBI who were enrolled ≤24 hours after injury and followed for 12 months. Seven hundred seventy hospitalized patients who were obese (body mass index [BMI] > 30.0 kg/m²) or had a healthy BMI (18.5 to 24.9 kg/m²) were enrolled.

The researchers found that compared with participants with healthy body mass, obese participants had higher concentrations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein one day after injury, at two weeks, and at six months (mean differences, 0.65, 0.99, and 1.08, respectively). In addition, obese participants had higher concentrations of interleukin-6 at two weeks and six months (mean differences, 0.37 and 0.42, respectively). A higher Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire total score was seen at six and 12 months for obese participants (mean differences, 2.79 and 2.37, respectively).

"Our hope is to build our research program to find treatments that reduce inflammation and improve overall health for obese patients after sustaining an mTBI," Eagle said in a statement. "Our findings suggest clinicians should consider higher body mass as a risk factor for poor responses to mTBI."

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