Female patients with traumatic brain injury less likely to be admitted to trauma centers

by Canadian Medical Association Journal

edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan

Gaby Clark

Scientific Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process

Robert Egan

Associate Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process Editors' notes

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

trusted source

proofread

The GIST Add as preferred source

Female patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are 26% less likely to be admitted to a specialized trauma center than male patients, according to a study of data from Ontario published in Canadian Medical Association Journal. This difference persisted even after researchers accounted for factors such as age, severity of injury, other health conditions and socioeconomic circumstances.

Traumatic brain injuries, often caused by falls, are the leading cause of trauma-related death and disability globally.

In this study, based on ICES data from 55,606 patients admitted to the hospital for TBI in Ontario between April 2009 and March 2020, 39% (21,719) were female. Of the total, 18,650 patients were admitted to a specialized trauma center, including 26% (5,666) of female patients and 38% (12,984) of male patients. Female patients were much older (median age 78 years) than male patients (median age 67 years) and were more likely to have dementia and hypertension. By contrast, male patients had higher rates of severe head trauma (33%) than female patients (25%).

Several factors may contribute to these differences in admission rates.

"First, injuries in female patients are more often associated with lower-energy mechanisms, such as ground-level falls, that may attract less attention and may lead to lower prehospital priority," writes Dr. Natalia Angeloni, a critical care physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, with co-authors. "Second, unconscious (implicit) sex-related bias may contribute to differential recognition of severity of injury."

As well, the smaller number of female patients with TBI in research studies may contribute to a narrow understanding of the way trauma presents in female patients.

The authors suggest more research is needed to understand sex-based discrepancies in trauma care.

"In Ontario, triage performance is suboptimal, with high rates of both overtriage and undertriage, suggesting variability in decision-making, even when standardized guidelines are in place," the authors write. "Understanding how this variability interacts with sex and gender is critical. The role, if any, of conscious and unconscious bias in clinical decision-making in care of patients with TBI should be explored, as has been done for other clinical conditions; results should guide targeted interventions to reduce the disparities we have identified."

Publication details

Differences in admission to trauma centres by sex among adults with traumatic brain injury: a population-based cohort study, Canadian Medical Association Journal (2026). DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.251721

Journal information: Canadian Medical Association Journal

Key medical concepts

Traumatic Brain InjuryHigh Blood PressureDementia

Clinical categories

Neurology Provided by Canadian Medical Association Journal Who's behind this story?

Gaby Clark

MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

Citation: Female patients with traumatic brain injury less likely to be admitted to trauma centers (2026, June 15) retrieved 15 June 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-female-patients-traumatic-brain-injury.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.