Bennett Lauren L, Stephen Steve J, Bernick Charles, Shan Guogen, Banks Sarah J
Neuropsychologist, Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, CA, United States.
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV, United States.
Front Neurol. 2020 Oct 29;11:574458. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.574458. eCollection 2020.
Incidence of concussions and report of symptoms are greater among women across sports. While structural brain changes and cognitive declines are associated with repetitive head impact (RHI), the role of sex is not well-understood. This study aimed to determine if there is a moderating effect of sex on the relationship the number of professional fights has with cognitive functioning and regional brain volumes in a cohort of boxers, mixed martial artists, and martial artists. A total of 55 women were matched with 55 men based on age, years of education, ethnicity, and fighting style. Cognition was assessed the CNS Vital Signs computerized cognitive battery and supplemental measures. Structural brain scans, demographic data, and number of professional fights (NoPF) were also considered. The matched pairs were compared analysis of covariance, accounting for total brain volume. Within-subject moderation models were utilized to assess the moderating effect of sex on the relationship between NoPF and brain volumes and cognitive performance. Men were observed to have poorer performance on measures of psychomotor speed when compared to women. On a series of analyses assessing the role of sex as a moderator of the relationship between NoPF and regional brain volumes/cognitive performance, a significant moderation effect was observed across multiple measures of cognitive functioning, such that men had poorer performance. Differences in numerous regional brain volumes were also observed, such that the relationship between NoPF and brain volumes was steeper among men. Sex was observed to be an important moderator in the relationship between NoPF, aspects of cognitive functioning, and volumes of numerous brain regions, suggesting that sex differences in neuroanatomic and cognitive response to RHI deserve further attention.
在各类体育运动中，女性脑震荡的发生率及症状报告均高于男性。虽然结构性脑变化和认知能力下降与重复性头部撞击（RHI）有关，但性别在其中的作用尚未得到充分理解。本研究旨在确定在拳击手、综合格斗选手和武术家中，性别是否会对职业比赛次数与认知功能及脑区体积之间的关系产生调节作用。根据年龄、受教育年限、种族和格斗风格，共为55名女性匹配了55名男性。使用CNS Vital Signs计算机化认知测试组合及补充测量方法评估认知能力。还考虑了脑部结构扫描、人口统计学数据和职业比赛次数（NoPF）。采用协方差分析对匹配对进行比较，并计入全脑体积。采用受试者内调节模型评估性别对NoPF与脑体积及认知表现之间关系的调节作用。与女性相比，男性在心理运动速度测量方面表现较差。在一系列评估性别作为NoPF与脑区体积/认知表现之间关系调节因素作用的分析中，在多项认知功能测量中均观察到显著的调节作用，即男性表现较差。在多个脑区体积方面也观察到差异，即NoPF与脑体积之间的关系在男性中更为显著。性别被认为是NoPF、认知功能方面以及多个脑区体积之间关系的重要调节因素，这表明在对RHI的神经解剖学和认知反应方面的性别差异值得进一步关注。
