Concussions: Men recover later than women

Men may take longer to recover and show more brain damage than women do in concussions, according to a study.

Concussions are the result of mild trauma to the brain, often caused by the blows to the head.

In the study, researchers examined brain scans and medical records of 47 men and 22 women with concussions, and a group of 21 men and women without any brain injury.

The results showed that it took men with concussions an average of 67 days to recover, compared with an average of 26 days for women.

"What was really striking to us was the fact that how long it took you to recover was not dependent on how severe your initial symptoms were," said Saeed Fakhran, an assistant professor of neuroradiology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

An analysis of the brain scans also suggested that men had more abnormalities in one area of the brain's white matter which is where concussions can often cause minor damage.

The researchers also found that having more abnormalities in a specific area of the white matter was also linked with having a longer recovery time.

The study was published in the journal Radiology.