Age of First Exposure Does Not Relate to Post-Career Health in Former Professional American-Style Football Players.


Journal

Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)
ISSN: 1179-2035
Titre abrégé: Sports Med
Pays: New Zealand
ID NLM: 8412297

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
26 Jun 2024
Historique:
accepted: 29 05 2024
medline: 26 6 2024
pubmed: 26 6 2024
entrez: 25 6 2024
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

Prior studies examining small samples of symptomatic former professional football players suggest that earlier age of first exposure (AFE) to American football is associated with adverse later life health outcomes. This study examined a larger, more representative sample of former professional American football players to assess associations between AFE before age 12 (AFE < 12) and clinical outcomes compared with those who started at age 12 or older (AFE 12 +). Former professional American football players who completed a questionnaire were dichotomized into AFE < 12 and AFE 12 + . AFE groups were compared on outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety, perceived cognitive difficulties, neurobehavioral dysregulation, and self-reported health conditions (e.g., headaches, sleep apnea, hypertension, chronic pain, memory loss, dementia/Alzheimer's disease, and others). Among 4189 former professional football players (aged 52 ± 14 years, 39% self-reported as Black), univariable associations with negligible effect sizes were seen with AFE < 12, depressive symptoms (p = 0.03; η In a large cohort of former professional American-style football players, AFE was not independently associated with adverse later life outcomes. These findings are inconsistent with smaller studies of former professional football players. Studies examining AFE in professional football players may have limited utility and generalizability regarding policy implications for youth sports.

Identifiants

pubmed: 38918303
doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02062-9
pii: 10.1007/s40279-024-02062-9
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Subventions

Organisme : NCATS NIH HHS
ID : UL1 TR002541
Pays : United States

Informations de copyright

© 2024. The Author(s).

Références

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Auteurs

Douglas P Terry (DP)

Department of Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1500 21st Ave South, Suite 4340, Village at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN, 37212, USA. Douglas.terry@vumc.org.

Rachel Grashow (R)

Harvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Grant L Iverson (GL)

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding Rehabilitation, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Sports Concussion Program, Mass General for Children, Boston, MA, USA.

Paula Atkeson (P)

Harvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.

Ran Rotem (R)

Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Shawn R Eagle (SR)

Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Daniel H Daneshvar (DH)

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.

Scott L Zuckerman (SL)

Department of Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1500 21st Ave South, Suite 4340, Village at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN, 37212, USA.

Ross D Zafonte (RD)

Harvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.

Marc G Weisskopf (MG)

Harvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Aaron Baggish (A)

Harvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Cardiovascular Performance Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Cardiology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and Institute for Sport Science, University of Lausanne (ISSUL), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Classifications MeSH