Women suffer more from mild traumatic brain injury

The symptom burden of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) appears to be heavier among women, especially those who have had previous episodes, a recent study has found.

The study included 151 adults (mean age 45.42 years, 74 women) who had sustained mTBI 8 years ago and were ≥16 years of age at the time of injury. Symptom burden and functional outcomes were assessed using self-accomplished questionnaires. A parallel group of 151 TBI-free controls (mean age 46.97 years, 77 women) was also included.

The Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire revealed a significantly higher symptom burden in the mTBI group than in controls (F, 26.84; p<0.01). This effect was even greater in women, who were twice as likely to surpass clinical cutoffs for postconcussive symptoms (p<0.01).

Moreover, women suffered from a higher burden of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD; p=0.014) as compared with other demographic subgroups.

Analyses that took into consideration mTBI history further showed that adults who experienced repetitive episodes suffered from significantly greater postconcussive symptoms relative to single-episode comparators (p<0.01).

A significant sex effect was also observed for the subgroup of adults with repetitive mTBIs, with twice the proportion of women meeting clinical cutoffs for postconcussive (p<0.01), anxiety (p<0.05), and PTSD (p<0.02) than men.

“When treating mTBI it is important to assess TBI history, particularly in women. This may help identify those at greatest risk of poor long-term outcomes to direct early treatment and intervention,” the researchers said.