Women and Men suffer head injuries differently

March 31, 2016, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

A growing body of research is highlighting the fact that there is a gender gap in traumatic brain injury and its treatment. While there have been enormous advances made in research, diagnosis and treatment of TBI we still aren’t clear on why some people who suffer minor hits or blows can go on to suffer lifelong injuries while others do not. Research is showing that men and women experience TBI differently and this extends to recognition of the trauma, diagnosis and treatment.

It’s thought that many factors play into the differential experience.

These factors include:

• Muscle strength
• Hormones
• Physiology
• Social pressures around reporting injury
• Research bias  - In fact research bias is a very serious one, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in America now required the use of cells and animals from both males and females in all research.

Women tend to suffer TBI in workplace settings or as a result of domestic violence, however few shelters train their staff to recognize the signs of TBI in their clients. We also know that women who are employed have a higher percentage of being referred for treatment of their TBI than women who are returning to unpaid work like being home makers.

Men tend to suffer TBI in high-risk activities like contact sports, construction work and military service. While almost 30% of TBI admitted to hospitals are women, the percentages equal out in old age when the primary source of TI becomes slip and fall accidents for both genders.

The recognition of the gender gap has become a focus of federal concern in Canada. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has provided funding to the Canadian Traumatic Brain Injury Consortium which will focus on the fact that “TBI is the second highest neurological condition requiring informal care” in Canada. Professor Angela Coantonio, University of Toronto,  is the CIHR Research Chair in Gender Work and Health and she is leading the research team investigating the gender bias that exists.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

The opinions expressed here, while intended to provide useful information, should not be interpreted as legal recommendations or advice.