Does Concussion Impact Men and Women Differently?

A new study reports that gender may be a determining factor in the overall impact of neurotrauma, which could drastically change current diagnostic methods and evaluation. Recently presented at the Sports Concussion Conference in Denver, hosted by the American Academy of Neurology, researchers from the University of Michigan analyzed 148 college athletes from 11 different athletic fields to evaluate the severity of various neurotrauma symptoms in order to determine if relevant demographics increased or decreased severity. The study determined that while overall cognitive ability returned across the study, female patients were shown to have greater symptoms and lower performance levels in pre-season testing before resuming full capability. “More research is needed to confirm these results and to understand why women may have lower performance at pre-season baseline. The difference in performance between genders should be of great interest to athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and doctors who utilize baseline assessments to aide recovery protocols,” said the author of the study. “This finding that cognitive skills were not significantly affected by having a concussion for either gender should be reassuring to athletes who have experienced a concussion and wonder about its later effects.” To learn more about this study, click here.