The effects of menstrual cycle phase on clinical measures of concussion in healthy college-aged females
Abstract
The management of concussion and mild traumatic brain injury is an area of clinical uncertainty for many sports medicine professionals. While recent studies suggest sex differences in neurocognitive function may exist, our understanding of the effects of menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use in healthy females is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were changes in neurocognitive function, postural stability and self-reported symptoms between the early and late stages of the menstrual cycle, and also to identify whether performance across menstrual cycle would differ between females using OCP and eumenorrheic females not using OCP. Healthy college-aged females completed a standard concussion test battery including computerised assessment of neurocognitive function, postural stability and symptom status. Participants completed the counterbalanced testing design during the early and late phases of their menstrual cycle. No significant main effects or interactions for any neurocognitive function or postural stability outcome measure were observed. Eumenorrheic females endorsed a higher number of symptoms and reported an increased symptom severity score compared to females using OCP. Menstrual cycle phase had no effect on the total severity or the number of symptoms endorsed. These results suggest preseason neurocognitive and postural stability baseline tests are stable across the menstrual cycle, regardless of OCP use. Therefore, decreased performance on these measures following a suspected concussion is likely not attributable to menstrual cycle phase or use of OCP.
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Menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive use did not affect post-concussion cognition or postural stability in a study of college-aged women.
“Menstrual cycle phase and oral contraceptive use did not affect post-concussion cognition or postural stability in a study of college-aged women. 70”
From Sex Differences in Traumatic Brain Injury: What We Know and What We Should Know (2019) · cites this paper as [70]
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Sex Differences in Traumatic Brain Injury: What We Know and What We Should Know
Gupte, R. P., Brooks, W. M., Vukas, R. R., Pierce, J. D., & Harris, J. L. (2019) · Journal of Neurotrauma · doi:10.1089/neu.2018.6171 · Cited by 533 · see citing works
- Authors
- Mihalik, J. P., Ondrak, K. S., Guskiewicz, K. M., & McMurray, R. G.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- McMurray, Robert G.
- Venue
- Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-05
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 383-387
- ISSN
- 1440-2440 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1964803724
- Cited by
- 75
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of science and medicine in sport (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Migraine and Headache Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports injuries and prevention
- Keywords
- menstrual cycle phases, concussion, mild traumatic brain injury, oral contraceptives, neurocognitive function, postural stability, self-reported symptoms, sex differences, eumenorrheic women, baseline assessment
- MeSH terms
- Athletic Injuries, Brain Concussion, Cognition, Contraceptives, Oral, Postural Balance, Female, Humans, Menstrual Cycle, Neuropsychological Tests, Prospective Studies, Severity of Illness Index, Single-Blind Method, Young Adult
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