Model System:

TBI

Reference Type:

JA

Accession No.:

Journal:


Brain Injury

Year, Volume, Issue, Page(s):

, 21, 10, 1023-30

Publication Website:

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between gender and cognitive recovery 1 year following traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Patients with blunt TBI were identified from the TBI Model Systems of Care National Database, multi-centre cohort study. The included patients (n = 325) were 16-45 years at injury, admitted to an acute care facility within 24 hours, received inpatient rehabilitation, had documented admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, completed neuropsychological follow-up 1 year post-injury and did not report pre-morbid learning problems. Multivariate analyses of variance examined the unadjusted association between gender and six cognitive domains examining attention/working memory, verbal memory, language, visual analytic skills, problem-solving and motor functioning. Analyses of covariance models were constructed to determine if confounding factors biased the observed associations. RESULTS: Females performed significantly better than males on tests of attention/working memory and language. Males outperformed females in visual analytic skills. Gender remained significantly associated with performance in these areas when controlling for confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a better cognitive recovery of females than males following TBI. However, future studies need to include non-TBI patients to control for possible pre-injury gender-related differences, as well as to conduct extended follow-ups to determine the stability of the observed differences.

Author(s):


Ratcliff, J. J., Greenspan, A. I., Goldstein, F. C., Stringer, A. Y., Bushnik, T., Hammond, F. M., Novak, T. A., Whyte, J., Wright, D. W.

Participating Centers: