A new study from Mass General Brigham, Boston University, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation has concluded that NFL players have a higher risk of death due to neurodegenerative disease than the general population.
Nearly four times higher.
“This is the clearest population-level evidence we have ever had that NFL players are dying due to neurodegenerative disease at real and measurably higher rates,” said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School and director of the HealthSpan Lab. “This study demonstrates that, when looking at athletes who have played in an NFL game, including nearly 20,000 players, across every official cause of death, the result is the same: NFL players are dying of dementia and Parkinson’s disease three to four times more often than they should.”
The broad term "neurodegenerative disease" includes ALS, Parkinson's disease, and dementia.
Length of NFL career, not surprisingly, was a factor. The study found that players with five or more seasons had "nearly double the risk" of neurodegenerative death in comparison to those who spent one-to-four years in the NFL.
Nearly four times higher.
“This is the clearest population-level evidence we have ever had that NFL players are dying due to neurodegenerative disease at real and measurably higher rates,” said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School and director of the HealthSpan Lab. “This study demonstrates that, when looking at athletes who have played in an NFL game, including nearly 20,000 players, across every official cause of death, the result is the same: NFL players are dying of dementia and Parkinson’s disease three to four times more often than they should.”
The broad term "neurodegenerative disease" includes ALS, Parkinson's disease, and dementia.
Length of NFL career, not surprisingly, was a factor. The study found that players with five or more seasons had "nearly double the risk" of neurodegenerative death in comparison to those who spent one-to-four years in the NFL.
22 days ago
