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9) Residual/Long Term Effects
9.10 Mental health and physical health profiles in former professional rugby league players
  1. Andrew Gardner1,2,
  2. Douglas Terry3,4,5,6,
  3. Christopher Levi2,7,
  4. Grant Iverson3,4,5,6
  1. 1Priority Research Centre for Stroke and Brain Injury, School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
  2. 2Hunter New England Local Health District Sports Concussion Clinic, Waratah, Australia
  3. 3Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
  4. 4Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, USA
  5. 5MasGeneral Hospital for Children™ Sport Concussion Program, Boston, USA
  6. 6Home Base, A Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, Boston, USA
  7. 7Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE), University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia

Abstract

Objectives To describe the mental health and physical health profiles of retired professional rugby league players.

Design Descriptive cohort study.

Setting University research center.

Participants 144 former Australian professional rugby league players (age: M=52.6, SD=13.8, range 30–89).

Outcome Measures Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS21), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and a clinical interview with a neuropsychologist that assessed history of substance use, mental health difficulties, and medical diagnoses.

Main Results A significant portion of retired players reported a past history of depression (28.0%) and anxiety or other psychiatric illness (18.2%). On the DASS21, a substantial minority reported current symptoms of depression (28.9%), anxiety (19.0%), and stress (26.8%) of mild or greater severity. Over 40% had at least one elevated DASS21 subscale. Regarding alcohol use, 37.5% of the sample scored in the risky range on the AUDIT, and 7.7% scored in the high-risk range. The most common physical health problems were arthritis (49.0%), headaches (24.5%), hypertension (13.3%), migraines (10.5%), high cholesterol (8.4%), and diabetes (5.6%).

Conclusions A substantial minority of retired professional rugby league players reported difficulties with depression, anxiety, and alcohol use. Common physical health problems include arthritis and headaches. These results highlight the need to complete holistic health assessments in former professional athletes.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-concussion.126

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