Acute post-concussion anxiety and depression scores are not associated with duration of concussion symptoms among collegiate athletes

Objective To investigate the association between acute post-injury scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and symptom duration in collegiate student-athletes following a concussion. Background Concussion recovery as measured by symptom resolution generally occurs within a week of injury in most athletes. In some cases, however, symptoms can persist for weeks or months. Time to symptom resolution has been associated with many factors, including psychological health. Athletes with a history of psychiatric or mood disorders prior to injury may be more likely to experience prolonged symptoms. It is unknown, however, whether initial complaints of anxiety or depression following a concussion are associated with subsequent symptom duration. Design/Methods Twenty NCAA collegiate athletes (55% female, 20.10 ± 1.33 years) completed a HADS assessment within a week of sustaining a concussion. Participants then reported their post-concussion symptom scale daily until being cleared to return to sport. Date of symptom resolution was then collected at a follow-up assessment. Symptom duration was defined as the number of days between the injury and day of symptom resolution. Individual linear regressions were used to examine the relationship between HADS scores and symptom duration. Results Athletes were initially assessed at a mean of 2.65 ± 1.04 days. Mean symptom duration was 15.95 ± 17.33 days. There were no independent associations between duration of symptoms and HADS anxiety (β = 0.55, 95% CI = −1.28, 2.38, p = 0.63), HADS depression (β = −0.21, 95% CI = −3.08, 2.67, p = 0.88), or total HADS scores (β = 0.23, 95% CI = −1.07, 1.53, p = 0.71). Conclusions Post-injury anxiety and depression scores did not appear to influence symptom duration in concussed collegiate student-athletes. While mental health should continue to be monitored during recovery, duration of symptoms is likely influenced by a multifaceted set of factors that are highly variable across collegiate athletes who sustain a concussion.