Article

The relationship between gender and postconcussion symptoms after sport-related mild traumatic brain injury.

University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rochester, NY, USA.
Der Notarzt (impact factor: 0.28). 04/2009; 1(3):245-53. DOI:10.1016/j.pmrj.2009.01.011 pp.245-53
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT The authors sought to define the relationship between gender and postconcussion symptoms (PCSx) at 3 months after sport-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and, further, to examine whether age (minors vs. adults), source of PCSx reporting (self-reported vs. proxy), previous head injury or loss of consciousness, or the sport type in which the mTBI was incurred explain any observed gender differences in PCSx.
Prospective nested cohort study.
Regional trauma center emergency department.
A total of 260 patients who presented with sport-related mTBI, as defined by American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine criteria, began the study. The participants who lacked litigation concerning the mTBI and had participated in the follow-up assessment completed the study (n = 215).
Self, proxy, and interviewer report of age, gender, previous head injury or loss of consciousness, and sport in which injury was sustained.
Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ).
Adult females are at greater risk for elevated RPQ scores (odds ratio [OR] = 2.89, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.25-6.71; P = .013) but not female minors (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.45-1.71]; P = .695), as compared with male subjects. Adjustment for empirically identified confounders in each age group revealed persisting elevated risk for adult females (OR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.09-6.08; P = .031), but not minor females (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.52-2.19, P = .852). The risk associated with female gender in adults could not be explained by characteristics of the sports, such as helmeted versus not, or contact versus no contact, in which women incurred mTBIs. No sport characteristics were associated with increased risk of PCSx after mTBI.
Adult females, but not female minors, are at increased risk for PCSx after sport-related mTBI as compared with male patients. This increased risk cannot be explained by self-report, rather than proxy report, of symptoms, previous head injury or loss of consciousness, age, or sport characteristics. Further research is needed to elucidate the processes of age-differential recovery from mild brain injury in women and on how to most effectively incorporate appropriate follow-up after emergency department evaluation.

0 0
 · 
0 Bookmarks
 · 
29 Views
  • Source
    Article: Biomechanics of concussion.
    David F Meaney, Douglas H Smith
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The rising awareness of the long-term health problems associated with concussions re-emphasizes the need for understanding the mechanical etiology of concussions. This article reviews past studies defining the common mechanisms for mild traumatic brain injury and summarizes efforts to convert the external input to the head (force, acceleration, and velocity) into estimates of motions and deformations of the brain that occur during mild traumatic brain injury. Studies of how these mechanical conditions contribute to the cellular mechanisms of damage in mild traumatic brain injury are reviewed. Finally, future directions for improving understanding concussion biomechanics are discussed.
    Clinics in sports medicine 01/2011; 30(1):19-31, vii. · 1.33 Impact Factor
  • Source
    Article: Post-concussion syndrome: prevalence after mild traumatic brain injury in comparison with a sample without head injury.
    Philip J A Dean, Darragh O'Neill, Annette Sterr
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: To compare the prevalence of persistent post-concussion syndrome (PCS; >1 year post-injury) in participants with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and those without head injury. A cross-sectional sample of 119 participants with mTBI and 246 without previous head injury. Online questionnaires collected data about post-concussion symptoms, cognitive failures, anxiety, depression, sleep behaviour and post-traumatic stress disorder. Variability within the sample was addressed by splitting by PCS diagnosis to create four groups: mTBI + PCS, mTBI-PCS, Control + PCS and Control-PCS. PCS was diagnosed using ICD-10 criteria in all groups, with controls not requiring previous head injury. PCS was present to a similar extent in participants with no head injury (34%) compared to those with mTBI (31%). Only report of headaches, which could be caused by expectation bias, distinguished between mTBI + PCS and Control + PCS groups. In addition, significantly higher cognitive problems were observed in participants with mTBI compared with the control group. Persistent PCS, as currently defined, is not specific to mTBI. These data suggest that somatic and cognitive symptoms are most likely to be able to distinguish PCS after mTBI from that present in the general population. Further research is necessary into these factors in order to create more specific PCS diagnostic criteria.
    Brain Injury 11/2011; 26(1):14-26. · 1.36 Impact Factor
Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

3 months
 
adult females
 
age-differential recovery
 
American Congress
 
appropriate follow-up
 
emergency department evaluation
 
female gender
 
gender differences
 
greater risk
 
increased risk
 
mild brain injury
 
odds ratio [OR]
 
postconcussion symptoms
 
previous head injury
 
Prospective nested cohort study
 
Regional trauma center emergency department
 
Rehabilitation Medicine criteria
 
sport characteristics
 
sport-related mild traumatic brain injury
 
sport-related mTBI