ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate differences in frequent pain or headaches and associated neurobehavioral symptoms among men, women, and transgender individuals with and without a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Community

Participants: English and Spanish-speaking adults (n = 2,862) with and without self-reported TBI

Design: Cross-sectional study

Main Measures: Behavioral Assessment Screening Tool (BAST) subscales for Negative Affect, Substance Abuse, Executive Function, Fatigue, Impulsivity, and one item for experiencing “frequent pain or headache.”

Results: Women reported more pain than men. Women with a mild TBI (mTBI) more often reported frequent headaches/pain than woman in general or those with mTBI alone. Women reporting frequent headache/pain reported more negative affect and fatigue than men with comparable TBI history. Individuals identifying as transgender/other without TBI had higher negative affect and fatigue than both men and women without TBI. Individuals with mTBI and frequent headache/pain reported more executive function problems than those with mTBI without headache/pain. Pain and moderate/severe TBI were associated with more executive function problems in men and women, but more so for women.

Conclusion: Results suggest frequent headache/pain may differ between genders, particularly after mTBI. Pain, fatigue, executive function, and negative affect may be especially important in women’s recovery from TBI.

摘要

目的：调查有或没有创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 病史的男性、女性和跨性别者之间频繁疼痛或头痛以及相关神经行为症状的差异。

环境: 社区

参与者：有或没有自我报告的 TBI 的讲英语和西班牙语的成年人 (n = 2,862)

设计：横断面研究

主要测量指标：行为评估筛查工具（BAST）子量表，针对负面情绪、药物滥用、执行功能、疲劳、冲动以及经历“频繁疼痛或头痛”的一项。

结果：女性比男性报告更多的疼痛。患有轻度 TBI (mTBI) 的女性比一般女性或仅患有 mTBI 的女性更常报告频繁的头痛/疼痛。经常头痛/疼痛的女性比有类似 TBI 病史的男性报告更多的负面情绪和疲劳。没有 TBI 的跨性别者/其他人比没有 TBI 的男性和女性有更高的负面情绪和疲劳。患有 mTBI 且经常头痛/疼痛的个体比患有 mTBI 但不伴有头痛/疼痛的个体报告更多的执行功能问题。疼痛和中度/重度创伤性脑损伤与男性和女性更多的执行功能问题相关，但对女性来说更是如此。

结论：结果表明，频繁的头痛/疼痛可能因性别而异，特别是在 mTBI 后。疼痛、疲劳、执行功能和负面情绪对于女性 TBI 的恢复可能尤其重要。