Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Mar;12(3):301-314.
doi: 10.1002/pmrj.12237. Epub 2019 Sep 30.

Gender Differences in Outcomes after Traumatic Brain Injury among Service Members and Veterans

Alison M Cogan  1 , Virginia K McCaughey  2 , Joel Scholten  3
Affiliations
Review

Gender Differences in Outcomes after Traumatic Brain Injury among Service Members and Veterans

Alison M Cogan et al. PM R. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

This scoping study describes the range of outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI) studies of military service members and veterans addressing gender differences. A secondary purpose is to identify differences in outcomes between male and female participants in such studies. We searched PubMed, CiNAHL, and PsycInfo databases for relevant articles. Two reviewers independently screened results. Of 822 unique titles and abstracts screened for eligibility, 55 full articles were reviewed, with 29 studies meeting full inclusion criteria. Twenty of the 29 included studies used retrospective designs and all but two used data collected from Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense health care settings. TBI was diagnosed by self-report, screening, and evaluation procedures, and medical record documentation. Ten different outcome categories were identified among the included studies. In general, female service members and veterans have not been well represented in TBI outcomes research. Evidence suggests that female veterans with mild TBI (mTBI) report more neurobehavioral symptoms and use more outpatient services than male veterans. Studies also indicate that female veterans with TBI are more frequently diagnosed with depression. Additional research is essential to support precision treatment recommendations for female veterans with TBI, as women represent a growing proportion of the patients served by the Veterans Health Administration. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Office of Data Governance and Analytics. Women Veterans Report: The Past, Present, and Future of Women Veterans. Washington DC: National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, Department of Veterans Affairs; 2017. https://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/specialreports/women_veterans_2015_final.... Accessed September 18, 2018.
    1. Coronado V, Xu L, Basavaraju S, et al. Surveillance for Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Deaths-United States, 1997-2007. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control; 2011:1-32. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6005a1.htm. Accessed August 30, 2018.
    1. Amoroso T, Iverson K. Acknowledging the risk for traumatic brain injury in women veterans. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2017;205(4):318-323. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000621.
    1. Bazarian J, Blyth B, Mookerjee S, He H, McDermott M. Sex differences in outcome after mild traumatic brain injury. J Neurotrauma. 2010;27:527-539. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2009.1068.
    1. Farace E, Alves W. Do women fare worse? A metaanalysis of gender differences in outcome after traumatic brain injury. J Neurosurg. 2000;93(4):539-545.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources