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Female athletes more affected by concussion
The memory of female and younger athletes is particularly affected by concussion. This is the suggestion of new research from Michigan State University, which found these individuals take longer to recover from such incidents than male and older sportsmen.
Published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the study revealed females performed worse on visual memory tests and experienced a greater number of symptoms following concussion.
The investigation was funded by a two-year grant from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment and also showed participants of high school age achieved lower results on the memory assessments than those attending college.
Tracey Covassin of the learning institute's Department of Kinesiology noted there has so far been little knowledge with regard to the effects of age and sex on cognitive testing and postural stability.
Ms Covassin stated: "This study confirms that age and sex have an impact on recovery and future research should focus on developing treatments tailored to those differences."
Dr Richard Stephens, Chartered Psychologist, commented: "These findings are a concern. Our own research at Keele University found a small but significant decrement in attention in high school sports players that was associated with prior concussions.
"It remains unknown how these small decrements develop through adulthood and into old age."