Sex differences in outcomes from mild traumatic brain injury eight years post-injury.

Abstract

The long-term effects of mild TBI (mTBI) are not well understood, and there is an ongoing debate about whether there are sex differences in outcomes following mTBI. This study examined i) symptom burden and functional outcomes at 8-years post-injury in males and females following mTBI; ii) sex differences in outcomes at 8-years post-injury for those aged 5.2, p.19) and PTSD symptoms (X2(1) = 6.10, p = .014, V = .20) compared to the other groups, and reported their health had the greatest impact on time-related work demands (F(1,171) = 4.36, p = .04, ηp2 = .03. There was no interaction between sex and age on outcomes. The repetitive mTBI group reported significantly greater post-concussion symptoms (F(1,147) = 9.80, p6.90, p.30), anxiety (X2(1)>3.95, p.23) and PTSD symptoms (X2(1)>5.11, p.26) compared with males with repetitive TBI or women with single TBI. Thus, at 8-years post-mTBI, people continued to report a high symptom burden. Women with mTBI, particularly those with a history of repetitive mTBI, had the greatest symptom burden and were most likely to have symptoms of clinical significance. 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.