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Updated: Jul 22, 2026
Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
The Association Between Gender and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A
Tessa Breeding1, Brian Martinez1, Joshua Katz1
1NOVA Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Introduction:
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. but have a disproportionate impact on patients based on gender. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to compare gender differences in clinical outcomes between male and female adult trauma patients with moderate and severe TBI.
Methods:
Studies assessing gender differences in outcomes following TBIs on PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and ProQuest were searched. Meta-analysis was performed for outcomes including in-hospital mortality, hospital length of stay, intensive care unit length of stay, and Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) at 6 mo.
Results:
Eight studies were included for analysis with 26,408 female and 63,393 male patients. Meta-analysis demonstrated that males had a significantly lower risk of mortality than females (RR: 0.88; 95% CI 0.78, 0.99; P = 0.0001). Females had a shorter hospital length of stay (mean difference -1.4 d; 95% CI - 1.6 d, -1.2 d). No significant differences were identified in intensive care unit length of stay (mean difference -3.0 d; 95% CI -7.0 d, 1.1 d; P = 0.94) or GOS at 6 mo (mean difference 0.2 d; 95% CI -0.9 d, 1.4 d; P = 1).
Conclusions:
Compared to male patients, female patients with moderate and severe TBI had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality risk. There were no significant differences in long-term outcomes between genders based on GOS at 6 mo. These findings warrant further investigation into the etiology of these gender disparities and their impact on additional clinical outcome measures.
