Women and Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Women with TBI have been inadequately studied in relation to most aspects of pathophysiology, recovery, health and behavioral issues, and community integration. This is not entirely surprising in light of the preponderance of men with TBI but also reflects the traditional tendency of medical researchers to concentrate their efforts on men. Although most of the residual effects of TBI are gender-neutral, women may present some unique problems in relation to pain and endocrine issues, reproduction, and sexual functioning In addition, a woman's roles as wife, mother, and daughter are likely to result in a different constellation of family dynamics when TBI is introduced. Attention to enrollment of women in research studies and the increasing number of multi-institutional studies of TBI may provide enlightenment on these issues in the future.