Stability of postconcussion symptomatology differs between high and low responders and by gender but not by mild head injury status

A large sample of undergraduates (N = 2.326) was screened for general healt h. The screen discretely included items assessing postconcussion symptomato logy and neurologic history. A subsample of experiment-blind participants w hose self-reported postconcussion symptom levels were > 0.5 SD below the sc reening sample mean (low symptomatic; n = 45) or > 0.5 SD above the screeni ng sample mean thigh symptomatic: n = 53) were re-evaluated for postconcuss ion symptomatology 3 to 90 days later. The sample included 50 participants who reported history of mild head injury (MHI) and 48 controls. MHI was def ined as loss of consciousness of less than or equal to 20 minutes within th e past 10 years, but no more recent than 3 months. Persons with history of > 1 head injury or with other neurologic history were not included in the s tudy. The stability of postconcussion symptoms differed by high symptomatic versus low symptomatic presentation thigh symptomatic presentation was mor e variable) and by gender (females were more variable), but not by actual h istory of MHI. Sex differences in self-reported postconcussion symptomatolo gy are consistent with gender-related differences in reporting of other phy sical and psychological symptoms. In addition to demonstrating differences in the stability of self-reported postconcussion symptomatology, the curren t study provides normative test-retest data for the Postconcussion Symptom Checklist for extreme responders by gender and MHI status. (C) 2001 Nationa l Academy of Neuropsychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.