Girl athletes at greater risk than boys for concussions

Girls competing in sports such as soccer and basketball are more susceptible to concussions than boys are in the same sports, studies show.

Last update: October 1, 2007 - 10:52 PM

Girls competing in sports such as soccer and basketball are more susceptible to concussions than boys are in the same sports, studies show.

According to a study to be published in the Journal of Athletic Training, in high school soccer, girls sustained concussions 68 percent more often than boys did. Female concussion rates in high school basketball were almost three times higher than among boys.

Girls consistently took longer for their symptoms to resolve and to return to play. The study, conducted by researchers at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital, examined data submitted by 425 certified U.S. athletic trainers in the 2005-6 academic year. The National Federation of High School Sports Associations said 1 million youngsters play high school basketball and 700,000 play high school soccer each year; male participation is only slightly higher than among girls.

According to the study, football has the highest rate of concussion in high school sports, with 47 such injuries per 100,000 player games or practices. Girls soccer was second highest with 36 per 100,000, followed by boys soccer (22) and girls basketball (21).

PERSONALITY MAY BE KEY IN ALZHEIMER'S

A study of older people suggests that those who see themselves as self-disciplined, organized achievers have a lower risk for developing Alzheimer's disease than people who are less conscientious. A purposeful personality may protect the brain, perhaps by increasing neural connections that can act as a reserve against mental decline, said study co-author Robert Wilson of Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.

Astoundingly, the brains of some of the dutiful people were examined after their deaths and were found to have lesions that would meet criteria for Alzheimer's -- even though they had shown no signs of dementia.

The findings, in Monday's Archives of General Psychiatry, come from an analysis of personality tests and medical exams of 997 Catholic priests, nuns and brothers. The study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging.

At the start of the study, none showed signs of dementia. The average age was 75. Everyone was tested annually for 12 years. In that time, 176 people developed Alzheimer's. Those with the highest "conscientiousness" scores had an 89 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's compared with the lowest scorers. When the researchers took into account risk factors, including smoking and inactivity, they still found that the dutiful people had a 54 percent lower risk.

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