Concussion Biomarkers Assessed in Collegiate Student-Athletes (BASICS) I: normative study

Objective: To describe variability in concussion biomarker concentrations collected from serum in a sample of healthy collegiate athletes, as well as report reliability metrics in a subsample of female athletes.
Methods: Observational cohort study - Aβ42, total tau, S100B, UCH-L1, GFAP, MAP2, and CNPase serum concentrations were measured in 415 (61% male, 40% white, age 19.0±1.2 years) non-concussed collegiate athletes without recent exposure to head impacts. Standardized normative distributions are reported for each biomarker. We evaluated main effects (ANOVAs) of sex and race, reporting demographic-specific normative metrics when appropriate. In a subset of 31 female participants, test-retest reliability (Pearson’s r) and reliable change indices (80%, 90%, and 95% confidence intervals) across a 6-12 month interval are reported for Aβ42, total tau, S100B, and UCH-L1.
Results: Males exhibited higher UCH-L1 (p<.001, Cohen’s d=0.75) and S100B (p<.001, d=0.56) than females, whil...