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9.12 Odds of self-reported mild cognitive impairment and depression associated with demographic factors in former national football league players over 50 years of age: an NFL-long study
  1. Kevin Guskiewicz1,
  2. Samuel Walton1,
  3. Zachary Kerr1,
  4. Benjamin Brett2,
  5. Avinash Chandran1,3,
  6. JD DeFreese1,
  7. Ruben Echemendia4,5,
  8. Michael McCrea2,
  9. William Meehan6
  1. 1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA
  2. 2Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA
  3. 3Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention, Indianapolis, USA
  4. 4University of Missouri – Kansas City, Kansas City, USA
  5. 5University Orthopedics Center Concussion Clinic, State College, USA
  6. 6Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, USA

Abstract

Objective To investigate the associations among self-reported concussion history (SR-CHx), total years of playing contact football (TYP) and other demographic factors with odds of self-reporting a medical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or depression in a group of former professional football players.

Design Cross-sectional.

Setting Paper/web-based survey.

Participants Former NFL players >50 years old (n=989; aged=65.0±9.0 years; BMI=30.5±4.4kg/m2; years since leaving the NFL=35.8±9.6; TYP=17.8±4.7; white/non-Hispanic n=681, non-white n=298).

Independent Variables SR-CHx was ordinally categorized as: 0 (n=120); 1–2 (n=157); 3–5 (n=243); 6–9 (n=201); and 10+ (n=268). Other independent variables included TYP, age, race/ethnicity (white/non-Hispanic [referent group] vs. non-white), and BMI.

Outcome Measures Participants self-reported lifetime physician diagnosed MCI and depression. Separate logistic regression models were used to identify predictors of the odds of each outcome. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) excluding 1.00 were considered significant.

Main Results Odds of self-reported diagnosis of MCI (n=221, 22.3%) were higher with greater SR-CHx (1-category increase OR=1.64; 95%CI=[1.43, 1.88]), among non-white (vs. white/non-Hispanic) respondents (OR=1.96; 95%CI=[1.38, 2.78]), and older age (1-year increase OR=1.05; 95%CI=[1.03, 1.07]). Odds of self-reported diagnosis of depression (n=185, 18.7%) were higher with higher SR-CHx (OR=1.62; 95%CI=[1.40, 1.88]) and among non-white respondents (OR=1.26; 95%CI=[1.13, 2.34]).

Conclusions Self-reported diagnoses of MCI and depression were associated with lifetime SR-CHx and race/ethnicity, but not years of football participation. As these data are based on self-reported diagnoses of MCI and depression, further research is required to understand the incidence of these conditions and factors associated with diagnosis in former athletes.

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