Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39185683›Full record

SynthesisHuman brain mapping2024

Uncovering the hidden effects of repetitive subconcussive head impact exposure: A mega-analytic approach characterizing seasonal brain microstructural changes in contact and collision sports athletes.

Anna Kwiatkowski, Carmen Weidler, Ute Habel, Nicole S Coverdale, Adnan A Hirad, Kathryn Y Manning, Alexander Rauscher, Jeffrey J Bazarian, Douglas J Cook, David K B Li and 6 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Human brain mapping, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Anna KwiatkowskiDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6296-0718
Carmen WeidlerDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Ute HabelDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Nicole S CoverdaleCentre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Adnan A HiradDepartment of Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA.
Kathryn Y ManningDepartment of Radiology, University of Calgary and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Alexander RauscherDepartment of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Jeffrey J BazarianDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA.
Douglas J CookCentre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
David K B LiDepartment of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Bradford Z MahonDepartment of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Ravi S MenonCentre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Jack TauntonAllan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Kathrin ReetzDepartment of Neurology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Sandro RomanzettiDepartment of Neurology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Charlotte HuppertzDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.

Funding

CNS-Hannelore Kohl Foundation
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Repetitive subconcussive head impacts (RSHI) are believed to induce sub-clinical brain injuries, potentially resulting in cumulative, long-term brain alterations. This study explores patterns of longitudinal brain white matter changes across sports with RSHI-exposure. A systematic literature search identified 22 datasets with longitudinal diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data. Four datasets were centrally pooled to perform uniform quality control and data preprocessing. A total of 131 non-concussed active athletes (American football, rugby, ice hockey; mean age: 20.06 ± 2.06 years) with baseline and post-season data were included. Nonparametric permutation inference (one-sample t tests, one-sided) was applied to analyze the difference maps of multiple diffusion parameters. The analyses revealed widespread lateralized patterns of sports-season-related increases and decreases in mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD) across spatially distinct white matter regions. Increases were shown across one MD-cluster (3195 voxels; mean change: 2.34%), one AD-cluster (5740 voxels; mean change: 1.75%), and three RD-clusters (817 total voxels; mean change: 3.11 to 4.70%). Decreases were shown across two MD-clusters (1637 total voxels; mean change: -1.43 to -1.48%), two RD-clusters (1240 total voxels; mean change: -1.92 to -1.93%), and one AD-cluster (724 voxels; mean change: -1.28%). The resulting pattern implies the presence of strain-induced injuries in central and brainstem regions, with comparatively milder physical exercise-induced effects across frontal and superior regions of the left hemisphere, which need further investigation. This article highlights key considerations that need to be addressed in future work to enhance our understanding of the nature of observed white matter changes, improve the comparability of findings across studies, and promote data pooling initiatives to allow more detailed investigations (e.g., exploring sex- and sport-specific effects).

Indexed as

Athletic InjuriesBrain ConcussionWhite MatterAdolescentAdultAthletesDiffusion Tensor ImagingFootballHockeyHumansMaleYoung Adultbrain injuriesdiffusion tensor imagingmultisite analysisrepetitive subconcussive head impactssport‐related mTBIvoxel‐based analysis

Identifiers

PMID39185683
PMCPMC11345636

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.