TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Exposure to American football and neuropsychiatric health in former National Football League players: findings from the Football Players Health Study
JO  - American journal of sports medicine
A1  - Roberts, Andrea L.
A1  - Pascual-Leone, Alvaro
A1  - Speizer, Frank E.
A1  - Zafonte, Ross D.
A1  - Baggish, Aaron L.
A1  - Taylor, Herman
A1  - Nadler, Lee M.
A1  - Connor, Ann
A1  - Grashow, Rachel
A1  - Stillman, Alexandra M.
A1  - Marengi, Dean A.
A1  - Weisskopf, Marc G.
A1  - Courtney, Theodore K.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND:    Former American football players have a higher prevalence of cognitive impairment than that of the US general population. It remains unknown what aspects of playing football are associated with neuropsychiatric outcomes.     Hypothesis:    It was hypothesized that seasons of professional football, playing position, and experience of concussions were associated with cognition-related quality of life (QOL) and indicators of depression and anxiety.   Study Design:    Descriptive epidemiology study.     Methods:    The authors examined whether seasons of professional football, playing position, and experience of concussions, as measured by self-report of 10 symptoms, were associated with cognition-related QOL and indicators of depression and anxiety in a cross-sectional survey conducted 2015 to 2017. Cognition-related QOL was measured by the short form of the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders: Applied Cognition-General Concerns. The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 measured depression and anxiety symptoms. Of 13,720 eligible men with apparently valid contact information, 3506 players returned a questionnaire at the time of this analysis (response rate = 25.6%).     Results:    Seasons of professional play (risk ratio [RR] per 5 seasons = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.06-1.34) and playing position were associated with cognition-related QOL. Each 5 seasons of play was associated with 9% increased risk of indicators of depression at borderline statistical significance (P =.05). When compared with former kickers, punters, and quarterbacks, men who played any other position had a higher risk of poor cognition-related QOL, depression, and anxiety. Concussion symptoms were strongly associated with poor cognition-related QOL (highest concussion quartile, RR = 22.3, P <.001), depression (highest quartile, RR = 6.0, P <.0001), and anxiety (highest quartile, RR = 6.4, P <.0001), even 20 years after last professional play.     Conclusion:    The data suggest that seasons of play and playing position in the NFL are associated with lasting neuropsychiatric health deficits. Additionally, poor cognition-related QOL, depression, and anxiety appear to be associated with concussion in the long term.       Keywords sports injuries, postconcussion syndrome, cognitive function, depression, anxiety, football<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0363-5465
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0363546519868989
ID  - ref1
ER  -