Gender differences in aphasia outcomes: evidence from the AphasiaBank

Abstract

Background: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Aphasia is a language impairment which results as a consequence of stroke. Gender differences are reported in underlying mechanisms of stroke, however, gender differences in aphasia type and severity remain unclear. Aims: To examine gender differences in aphasia impairment based on data from AphasiaBank, a research repository of data obtained from studies of aphasia. Methods & Procedures:The data were collected from AphasiaBank for 294 persons with aphasia (PWA) (172 men, 122 women). Baseline comparisons by gender groups were completed using independent samples t-tests and Pearson Chi square statistics. Univariate comparisons of the total Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R) -AQ and -R subtests' scores were compared between the two groups using independent samples t-tests. Multivariate comparisons were completed by using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Outcomes & Results: Gender differences were observed in the severity of aphasia with men exhibiting more severe aphasia than women. Analyses of WAB-R indicated greater impairment among men based on AQ and greater impairment was observed in individual subtest performance. Men exhibited statistically significantly lower WAB-R AQs than women (67.4 versus 75.6). Lower WAB-R AQs were derived from lower scores among men on individual subtests; information content, fluency, repetition, sentence completion, responsive speech and tests of comprehension (yes/no, auditory word recognition and sequential commands). Conclusions & Implications:This study offers evidence of gender differences in aphasia severity, global communication impairment and lower scores on individual subtests used to derive the WAB-R AQ. The limitations of the study with suggestions for future directions are presented.

Meta-analysis and systematic review of the relationship between sex and the risk or incidence of poststroke aphasia and its types

“…The most classic type of nonfluent aphasia is broca aphasia, which is characterized by poor oral fluency and retelling ability and relatively good listening and understanding ability, which damages broca's brain area and affects the continuity of language [ 62 , 63 ]. After analysis by Sharma et al[ 10 ], it was found that the incidence of broca aphasia in men (27.4%) was significantly higher than that in women (19.2%), with an average age of 61.9 years. At present, the mechanism is not clear.…”

“…The severity and age of stroke can predict the risk of PSA [ 7 , 8 ], and the location and size of stroke have an important reference role in predicting PSA types [ 9 ]. But whether gender plays a predictive role in the incidence of PSA and its types is still controversial [ 10 , 11 ]. The lateralization of cerebral hemisphere use and the onset age of stroke affect the incidence of PSA in different sexes [ 12 ].…”

Applying core lexicon analysis in patients with anomic aphasia: Based on Mandarin AphasiaBank

“…Data for this study were drawn from the Mandarin protocol of the AphasiaBank database located in the TalkBank System (Chen et al., 2018; Deng et al., 2021). AphasiaBank is a shared database that offers researchers a large corpus with a definitive goal to improve the treatment of aphasia by comparing discourse natures from patients with aphasia and individuals without aphasia (Fromm et al., 2020; MacWhinney & Fromm, 2016; MacWhinney et al., 2011; Sharma et al., 2019). The database emphasizes the collection of data based on a specified elicitation protocol that requires the investigator to follow a script for asking questions and eliciting narratives, which offers multimedia information including transcripts of discourse by specific tasks (Fromm et al., 2020; MacWhinney, 2019; MacWhinney & Fromm, 2016).…”

The Intersection of Social Determinants of Health and Post-stroke Aphasia Outcomes: A Need for Intersectional Analysis

“…Sex/gender differences have also been reported among individuals with aphasia, although the evidence has been mixed. Sharma et al (2019) found greater impairment among men when compared to women in a study of 294 individuals with aphasia using data from the AphasiaBank (Sharma et al, 2019). However, other studies have generally reported no differences in the aphasia outcomes between men and women (Schehter et al, 1985;Sundet, 1988).…”