Females, military personnel, and especially female military personnel report higher total postconcussive symptoms
By Kaitlyn Chen. This article was initially published in the 9/19/24 edition of our Concussion Update newsletter; please consider subscribing.
A recent study published in The Clinical Neuropsychologist found that females reported higher total postconcussive symptoms compared to males and that military personnel reported higher total symptoms than the civilian population. Additionally, there was an interaction effect such that female military personnel reported higher total symptoms than either of the two groups (non-military females and non-female military personnel). In addition to the findings for total post-concussion symptoms, the team found similar patterns for “somatic, cognitive, and affective [mood or mental] symptom domains.“ Data was gathered using the FITBIR Informatics System, a database of TBI research. They included six studies totaling 9890 participants ranging in age from 16 to 84, with 32% of participants being female.
These findings imply that different treatment options may be required for women and for those who have sustained concussions in different environments, such as in the military. The authors of the study say, “Ultimately, more research with higher female representation is needed so that appropriate treatments and interventions can be delivered.”’
This need for research is critical because, historically, there has been an underrepresentation of women in concussion research across sports, military, and civilian contexts. Consequently, the majority of knowledge on concussions and their treatments is based on research conducted on males. Although this study uncovers differences in symptom reporting in concussions between males and females, the next step is to understand why these differences exist in order to determine if differing treatments are necessary. The variance in symptom reporting could be due to different socialization techniques (women may be more likely to report their symptoms), differences in the presentation of symptoms, and differences by sex and population (military, civilian sports) in objective cognitive functioning or how that functioning is measured. Additional potential factors for sex differences may be biological factors such as hormonal systems, neural architecture, muscle or biomechanical systems, or a combination of both these factors.
When conducting research on women, it is also essential to include underrepresented groups within that demographic, such as IPV survivors. The data in this study likely did not include sufficient data from this demographic due to underreporting. However, acknowledging and considering these groups in future research studies is crucial.
