Concussions have same impact on both genders, claims study

A new study claims that concussions may not impact or impair cognitive skills in men and women differently.

On the other hand, women may still experience greater symptoms and poorer cognitive performance at preseason testing.

In the study, 148 college athletes from 11 sports at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor were included. All had taken tests of learning and processing along with other measures of the brain's abilities, such as attention and working memory speed.

Of the participants, 45 percent were female, 51 percent played a contact sport and 24 percent had experienced a concussion.

They had an average of 0.3 concussions, ranging from zero to four. Men and women were equally likely to have a history of concussion, even after researchers adjusted for the percentage who played contact sports.

Kathryn L. O'Connor, a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said that more research was needed to confirm these results and to understand why women may have lower performance at preseason baseline, adding that the difference in performance between genders should be of great interest to athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and doctors who utilise baseline assessments to aide recovery protocols.

The study has been published in American Academy of Neurology.