Concussion affects girls more than boys, a new research paper shows.
The researchers found that concussion lasts longer in girls and has severe symptoms. For the research, Dr. Shayne Fehr, a pediatric sports medicine specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, examined 549 patients aged between 10 and 18 who were treated for concussion from early 2010 to mid-2012.
Of the 549 participants, 235 patients were girls. The researchers analysed the symptoms and their duration in both boys and girls. The results showed that girls suffered from more symptoms compared to boys. Moreover, it took an average of 56 days for girls to completely recover from concussion whereas boys were symptom-free in 34 days on average.
Fehr also found that 76 percent of the injuries were sports-related and 22 percent of them were due to concussion caused by football in particular. The top five symptoms young sports people suffered were headache, concentration problems, sensitivity to light and sound, and dizziness.
Both boys and girls suffered from the same symptoms, just that girls took longer to recover, the researchers noted. Fehr said that this shows that it is not necessary for the girls to receive different medical treatment.
"There have been several studies suggesting there are differences between boys and girls as far as (concussion) symptom reporting and the duration of symptoms," Dr Shayne Fehr, a pediatric sports medicine specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, said, reports HealthDay.
The findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine located in New Orleans, LA.
