One-third of former NFL players in study think they have CTE
September 25, 2024 – Among a group of nearly 2,000 former NFL players, one-third think that they have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that can cause symptoms such as cognitive impairment, behavioral and mood changes, and motor problems, according to new findings from the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University.
Co-authors of the study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health included Rachel Grashow, Niki Konstantinides, Frank Speizer, and Marc Weisskopf, all from the Department of Environmental Health.
Researchers surveyed retired football players whose careers spanned from 1960 to 2020. Of the 1,980 former players surveyed, 681 said that they thought they had CTE. More than 230 said they’d had suicidal thoughts and 176 said they had a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. But since CTE can only be diagnosed by a brain autopsy after death, it’s not known if players’ symptoms are a result of CTE or other causes.
“A key takeaway from this study is that many conditions common to former NFL players such as sleep apnea, low testosterone, high blood pressure and chronic pain can cause problems with thinking, memory and concentration,” said Grashow, director of epidemiological research initiatives for the Football Players Health Study and a senior research scientist at Harvard Chan School, in a September 23 NPR story. “While we wait for advances in CTE research to better address living players’ experiences, it is imperative that we identify conditions that are treatable. These efforts may reduce the chances that players will prematurely attribute symptoms to CTE which may lead to hopelessness and thoughts of self-harm.”
Read or listen to the NPR article: A third of former NFL players surveyed believe they have CTE, researchers find
Read a Mass General Brigham press release: Study of Former NFL Players Finds 1 in 3 Believe They Have CTE
