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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
A Neuroscientific Approach to the Examination of Concussions in Student-Athletes
Published on: December 8, 2014
Sex differences in concussion symptoms of high school athletes
Leah J Frommer1, Kelly K Gurka, Kevin M Cross
1University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
Context:
More than 1.6 million sport-related concussions occur every year in the United States, affecting greater than 5% of all high school athletes who participate in contact sports. As more females participate in sports, understanding possible differences in concussion symptoms between sexes becomes more important.
Objective:
To compare symptoms, symptom resolution time, and time to return to sport between males and females with sport-related concussions.
Design:
Descriptive epidemiology study.
Setting:
Data were collected from 100 high schools via High School RIO (Reporting Information Online).
Patients Or Other Participants:
Athletes from participating schools who sustained concussions while involved in interscholastic sports practice or competition in 9 sports (boys' football, soccer, basketball, wrestling, and baseball and girls' soccer, volleyball, basketball, and softball) during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years. A total of 812 sport concussions were reported (610 males, 202 females).
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Reported symptoms, symptom resolution time, and return-to-play time.
Results:
No difference was found between the number of symptoms reported (P = .30). However, a difference was seen in the types of symptoms reported. In year 1, males reported amnesia (exact P = .03) and confusion/disorientation (exact P = .04) more frequently than did females. In year 2, males reported more amnesia (exact P = .002) and confusion/disorientation (exact P = .002) than did females, whereas females reported more drowsiness (exact P = .02) and sensitivity to noise (exact P = .002) than did males. No differences were observed for symptom resolution time (P = .40) or return-to-play time (P = .43) between sexes.
Conclusions:
The types of symptoms reported differed between sexes after sport-related concussion, but symptom resolution time and return-to-play timelines were similar.
