Health outcomes of former division I college athletes.
Jenna R Groh, Eukyung Yhang, Yorghos Tripodis and 8 others
PMID 39306858WHAT IT FOUND
Former collision sport athletes reported more cognitive complaints, impulsivity, rage, and sleep apnea than non-collision athletes.
However, the 6.2% response rate means these findings may reflect selection bias, so they do not prove collision sports cause these health issues.
Key findings
01Collision sport athletes had higher odds of reporting cognitive complaints and neuropsychiatric symptoms like rage and violence compared to non-collision athletes.
02Years of playing American football were associated with increased odds of sleep apnea and cognitive complaints, suggesting a duration-response relationship.
03The study had a very low response rate of 6.2%, which limits the certainty of the findings due to potential selection bias.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The response rate was only 6.2%, raising significant concern for selection bias; those with health concerns may have been more likely to respond. All outcomes were self-reported and not verified by medical records or objective testing. The study design is cross-sectional and cannot prove that collision sports caused the reported health issues. There was a lack of control for baseline personality traits or pre-existing conditions that might influence both sport choice and health outcomes. The sample size was small for some analyses, particularly regarding neurodegenerative diseases, limiting power to detect differences.
Declared interests
One author (RAS) is a member of the Board of Directors of King-Devick Technologies, Inc., receives royalties for published neuropsychological tests from Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., and consulting fees from Eisai. Another author (MLA) receives royalties from Oxford University Press and has received research support from Life Molecular Imaging Inc and Rainwater Charitable Foundation Inc. Other authors reported no conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that collision sports cause cognitive decline or neuropsychiatric symptoms. The extremely low response rate (6.2%) means the sample is likely biased toward those with health concerns, and the self-reported nature of the data prevents establishing causality.