Former NFL players had higher rates of death from ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases
Original source
Neurodegenerative mortality among National Football League Players. (opens in a new tab)Compass summarised this from the study's abstract.
Study details
- Studied in
- Human
Population inferred from the title and abstract by Compass.
Related topics
A study of 19,824 current and former National Football League players found nearly four times as many deaths from neurodegenerative diseases as expected compared with the general population. Deaths from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) were more than four times as high. The excess remained about threefold higher after the researchers accounted for competing causes of death.
Why this matters
The findings strengthen evidence of an association between repetitive head impacts in professional football and neurodegenerative mortality, including ALS. They may inform research into long-term risks for NFL players, but they do not establish that head impacts cause ALS or change treatment for people living with ALS.
Limitations and context
This was a retrospective population-based cohort study of NFL players, not a randomized study, so it cannot establish causation. It examined deaths rather than all cases of disease, and the findings may not apply to people outside this professional football population. The study was published as a journal article, but the supplied source does not state whether it was peer reviewed.