Obesity Linked to Higher Inflammation Risk

Physicians should consider obesity/higher body mass as a risk factor for poor responses to traumatic brain injury.

Obese individuals who suffer from a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are at increased risk of mTBI-related symptoms, due to inflammation ().

The research, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, evaluated patients — both obese and those with a healthy body mass index (BMI) — enrolled in the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI) study within 24 hours of sustaining an mTBI. Patients had their blood sampled to check for inflammatory biomarkers and completed outcome assessment questionnaires over a 12-month period. The study is the first to investigate if obesity impacts the relationship between recovery time, symptoms and increased inflammatory response in mTBI patients.

Obesity - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Complications, Treatment
Obesity is a condition where there is excess accumulation of body fat which poses a risk to the health of the individual. It can affect children and adults.

‘Obese patients have increased baseline inflammatory state and their high sensitivity C-reactive protein are on the higher note after brain trauma. #obesity #inflammation’

“Obesity is something that has been largely ignored when someone suffers from an mTBI,” said lead author Shawn Eagle, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Pitt. “The role of obesity has been studied in patients with more severe brain injuries, but little is known about its effect on milder brain injuries.”

Obesity and Inflammation Linked

Despite the “mild” moniker, 53% of patients with mTBI who present to an emergency department have functional limitations one year later. Patients can be rehabilitated using cognitive behavioral and physical therapies, but those with prolonged neuroinflammation tend to have a longer recovery process and more severe symptoms.

Two blood biomarkers — high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and interleukin protein six (IL-6) — are both important in mediating inflammatory response after mTBI. HsCRP is a protein made by the liver that is associated with increased systemic inflammation, and IL-6 promotes inflammation by allowing inflammatory proteins in the body to be expressed.

The mTBI patients with obese BMI had higher concentrations of hsCRP compared to those with a healthy body BMI on the day of injury, as well as two weeks and six months after injury, whereas their IL-6 concentration was greater at two weeks, six months and 12 months after injury.

Head Injury | Brain Injury Overview Types Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Head injury or traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of disability among children and young adults that leads to varying degrees of physical and mental stability. Fortunately, it is also one of the preventable brain disorder.

Eagle explained that the blood biomarkers spiked at different times in the obese mTBI patients mainly because hsCRP is a marker of systemic inflammation, whereas IL-6 is more often associated with trauma.

"IL-6 also spikes after trauma, and higher levels are associated with worse outcomes after sustaining an mTBI."

Test Your Knowledge on Inflammation
We are uncomfortable when there is a skin injury or an insect bite and we notice the area becomes swollen, red, itchy and painful. These changes are part of the inflammatory response occurring to protect the body against or limit damage due to the external injurious agent. Take this quiz to test your knowledge on inflammation.

Although there were not more obese patients — compared to that of those with healthy BMI — who had an incomplete functional recovery, assessments at six and 12 months after injury showed that obese patients had prolonged mTBI symptoms compared to the healthy BMI cohort.

Past studies have determined that Obesity and mTBI are separately associated with inflammation. Similarly, animal studies have explored the relationship between obesity and brain injury recovery. However, no research had been conducted examining the way that obesity could possibly mediate the inflammatory response and mTBI symptoms in humans.

How to Lose Weight?
Slide show which explains obesity causes and tips on how to lose weight. Exercising before breakfast is most effective for weight loss.

“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,” said Eagle.

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (grant 1U01NS086090-01).

Reference:

Association of obesity with mild traumatic brain injury symptoms, inflammatory profile, quality of life and functional outcomes - (https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2023/06/22/jnnp-2023-331562)

Source-Eurekalert