Sex Differences in Executive Functions Following Pediatric Concussive Brain Injury

INTRODUCTION. Children with concussive brain injuries often exhibit impaired executive functioning that can lessen quality of life and impede cognitive development. Research also demonstrates that there may be important sex-based differences in outcomes following concussion. However, few studies have sought to go beyond symptom reports, leaving our understanding of sex differences in executive functioning unknown in this population. Therefore, we sought to not only evaluate clinical symptoms but also executive functioning in a multi-faceted manner through computerized testing and parental reports of cognitive-behavioral functioning in daily life. We hypothesized that females would exhibit more severe clinical symptoms and greater executive dysfunction following concussion compared to males.METHODS. During the 2017-2019 academic years, data were collected from a local pediatric sports medicine clinic. Thirty males (M = 15.00, SD = 1.44 years) and twenty females (M = 15.30; SD = 1.38 years) who sustained concussions were examined. All participants were evaluated at two timepoints, an average of 2- and 5-weeks post-concussion. Clinical symptoms were measured using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ). Executive function was measured using the parent-reported Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), as well as a modified CogState Brain Injury Test Battery.RESULTS. Females reported a greater number of somatic and cognitive symptoms on the RPQ at 2 weeks and 5 weeks post-injury (pu2019s