In the 2023 Women’s World Cup, there was a new introduction to the state of play for the tournament: concussion spotters. Spotters are certified athletic trainers not tied to any specific team.

A study published in Biological Psychiatry

found that concussions may alter the trajectory of white matter maturation in female children and that this alteration may play a role in the onset of new depression and anxiety after concussion. 

A study published in Sports Medicine showed the recovery trajectories for both sexes to be quite similar. However, the study authors note that females have a greater overall symptom burden during their recovery period.

According to a news release by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, women are significantly more likely to experience depression following a concussion or other traumatic brain injury (TBI) when compared to men.

A recent study of the brains of 84 deceased women who experienced intimate partner violence found that the brains consistently showed signs of traumatic brain injury but that none met the criteria for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

According to a study done by Moran et al., hormonal contraceptives do not appear to influence neurocognition and oculomotor baseline assessment measures for sport-related concussion (SRC).

UN Women has released information about the growing IPV against women during the pandemic; they report an increase in calls for IPV by 25-40% in many countries, and “an additional 15 million women would be affected by IPV for every three months of lockdown.”

A study found a dramatic increase — more than 200% — in sports-related head injuries among female athletes ages 14-18” between 2000-2019. Moreover, the study also found that adolescent women who play soccer, basketball, cheerleading, softball, and volleyball are the most likely to be admitted to the emergency room (ER) with a concussion or traumatic brain injury.

Concussion Alliance interview with Dr. Eve Valera, research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Valera studies Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and domestic-violence-induced traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in women.

A recent article published by Forbes discusses a study by Zachary Y. Kerr et al. that explored differences in concussion risk for high school athletes based on the sport and gender of the players. Among “sex-comparable” sports, they found that concussion rates, as well as the proportions of recurrent concussions, were higher in girls than in boys.

Since TBIs are not studied as a domestic violence issue, clinicians are often unprepared for disclosures of domestic violence and may attribute survivors’ concussion-like symptoms to mental illness or trauma from abuse. Meanwhile, many of the organizations aimed at helping survivors of domestic violence are not prepared to help with TBIs.

Currently, patients are not tested for traumatic brain injuries in forensic nursing exams following domestic violence, strangulation, or rape. However, according to a study in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma conducted by Bridget Ralston et al. from the University of Arizona, testing for TBIs could help victims seek and receive proper medical care.

Researchers tested male and female adolescent mice, with different severities of TBI, for sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine. The male mice showed increased sensitivity after TBI, but the females with high levels of female sex hormones at the time of their TBI showed neuroprotection against cocaine sensitivity.