Key result
Concussion-associated polygenic profiles did not differ between elite rugby athletes and non-athletes (p≥0.065), but a COMT/MAPT GC allele combination was more common in athletes (31.7% vs 24.5%).
Why the study?
Concussion risk is high in elite rugby, but whether concussion-associated polygenic profiles differ between elite rugby athletes and non-athletes, or between rugby union forwards and backs, was unknown.
Does the concussion-associated polygenic profile differ between elite male rugby athletes and non-athletes?
Observational
Does the concussion-associated polygenic profile differ between elite male rugby athletes and non-athletes?
Elite rugby athletes do not possess a more protective concussion-associated polygenic profile based on an eight-polymorphism score, though specific gene interactions (COMT and MAPT) are more prevalent.
No overall polygenic concussion protection in elite rugby athletes; leaves open whether COMT/MAPT variants influence selection or resilience.
Due to the high-velocity collision-based nature of elite rugby league and union, the risk of sustaining a concussion is high. Occurrence of and outcomes following a concussion are probably affected by the interaction of multiple genes in a polygenic manner. This study investigated whether suspected concussion-associated polygenic profiles of elite rugby athletes differed from non-athletes and between rugby union forwards and backs. We hypothesised that a total genotype score (TGS) using eight concussion-associated polymorphisms would be higher in elite rugby athletes than non-athletes, indicating selection for protection against incurring or suffering prolonged effects of, concussion in the relatively high-risk environment of competitive rugby. In addition, multifactor dimensionality reduction was used to identify genetic interactions. Contrary to our hypothesis, TGS did not differ between elite rugby athletes and non-athletes (p ≥ 0.065), nor between rugby union forwards and backs (p = 0.668). Accordingly, the TGS could not discriminate between elite rugby athletes and non-athletes (AUC ~0.5), suggesting that, for the eight polymorphisms investigated, elite rugby athletes do not have a more ‘preferable’ concussion-associated polygenic profile than non-athletes. However, the COMT (rs4680) and MAPT (rs10445337) GC allele combination was more common in rugby athletes (31.7%; p < 0.001) and rugby union athletes (31.8%; p < 0.001) than non-athletes (24.5%). Our results thus suggest a genetic interaction between COMT (rs4680) and MAPT (rs10445337) assists rugby athletes in achieving elite status. These findings need exploration vis-à-vis sport-related concussion injury data and could have implications for the management of inter-individual differences in concussion risk.
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Antrobus et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Concussion. Elite rugby athlete status vs. Non-athletes was evaluated on Total genotype score (TGS) using eight concussion-associated polymorphisms (p=≥0.065). Concussion-associated polygenic profiles did not differ between elite rugby athletes and non-athletes (p≥0.065), but a COMT/MAPT GC allele combination was more common in athletes (31.7% vs 24.5%).
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