Neurodegenerative causes of death among retired National Football League players

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baron, Sherry L. ; Gersic, Christine M. ; Hein, Misty J. ; Lehman EJ
• Description:
  Objective: To analyze neurodegenerative causes of death, specifically Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), among a cohort of professional football players. Methods: This was a cohort mortality study of 3,439 National Football League players with at least 5 pension-credited playing seasons from 1959 to 1988. Vital status was ascertained through 2007. For analysis purposes, players were placed into 2 strata based on characteristics of position played: nonspeed players (linemen) and speed players (all other positions except punter/kicker). External comparisons with the US population used standardized mortality ratios (SMRs); internal comparisons between speed and nonspeed player positions used standardized rate ratios (SRRs). Results: Overall player mortality compared with that of the US population was reduced (SMR 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.48-0.59). Neurodegenerative mortality was increased using both underlying cause of death rate files (SMR 2.83, 95% CI 1.36-5.21) and multiple cause of death (MCOD) rate files (SMR 3.26, 95% CI 1.90-5.22). Of the neurodegenerative causes, results were elevated (using MCOD rates) for both ALS (SMR 4.31, 95% CI 1.73-8.87) and AD (SMR 3.86, 95% CI 1.55-7.95). In internal analysis (using MCOD rates), higher neurodegenerative mortality was observed among players in speed positions compared with players in nonspeed positions (SRR 3.29, 95% CI 0.92-11.7). Conclusions: The neurodegenerative mortality of this cohort is 3 times higher than that of the general US population; that for 2 of the major neurodegenerative subcategories, AD and ALS, is 4 times higher. These results are consistent with recent studies that suggest an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease among football players. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Athletes Demography Epidemiology Mortality Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Demographic-characteristics Mortality-data Mortality-rates Mortality-surveys Neurological-diseases Neurological-reactions Neurological-system Sports-injuries Statistical-analysis
• ISSN:
  0028-3878
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  79
• Issue:
  19
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041462
• Citation:
  Neurology 2012 Nov; 79(19):1970-1974
• Contact Point Address:
  Everett J. Lehman, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  elehman@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Neurology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:752931d942f549626a5395fde86a08d6db11c4500cb560ed9c35fbe1b2f29ef0997f13d283540c5c1918ba16c450d134c6f0fc15c00e59b6d266d2301c83f2c0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194029/cdc_194029_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 271.12 KB ]