Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31468987›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of sports medicine2019

Exposure to American Football and Neuropsychiatric Health in Former National Football League Players: Findings From the Football Players Health Study.

Andrea L Roberts, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Frank E Speizer, Ross D Zafonte, Aaron L Baggish, Herman Taylor, Lee M Nadler, Theodore K Courtney, Ann Connor, Rachel Grashow and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of sports medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
64citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

64 citing papers in PubMed.

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  8. Factors associated with subjective cognitive complaints in former American football players.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2026
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4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Andrea L RobertsInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Alvaro Pascual-LeoneInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Frank E SpeizerInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Ross D ZafonteInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Aaron L BaggishInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Herman TaylorInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Lee M NadlerInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Theodore K CourtneyInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Ann ConnorInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Rachel GrashowInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Alexandra M StillmanInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Dean A MarengiInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Marc G WeisskopfInvestigation performed at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

HARVARD CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER (UL1)UL1RR025758 · NCRR · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI NADLER, LEE MARSHALL · 2008 to 2011
$91.4M
NCRR NIH HHS UL1 RR025758
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFormer American football players have a higher prevalence of cognitive impairment than that of the US general population. It remains unknown what aspects of playing football are associated with neuropsychiatric outcomes. HYPOTHESIS: It was hypothesized that seasons of professional football, playing position, and experience of concussions were associated with cognition-related quality of life (QOL) and indicators of depression and anxiety. STUDY

designDescriptive epidemiology study.

methodsThe authors examined whether seasons of professional football, playing position, and experience of concussions, as measured by self-report of 10 symptoms, were associated with cognition-related QOL and indicators of depression and anxiety in a cross-sectional survey conducted 2015 to 2017. Cognition-related QOL was measured by the short form of the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders: Applied Cognition-General Concerns. The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 measured depression and anxiety symptoms. Of 13,720 eligible men with apparently valid contact information, 3506 players returned a questionnaire at the time of this analysis (response rate = 25.6%).

resultsSeasons of professional play (risk ratio [RR] per 5 seasons = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.06-1.34) and playing position were associated with cognition-related QOL. Each 5 seasons of play was associated with 9% increased risk of indicators of depression at borderline statistical significance (

conclusionThe data suggest that seasons of play and playing position in the NFL are associated with lasting neuropsychiatric health deficits. Additionally, poor cognition-related QOL, depression, and anxiety appear to be associated with concussion in the long term.

Indexed as

AnxietyBrain ConcussionCognition DisordersCross-Sectional StudiesDepressionFootballHumansMaleMiddle AgedPost-Concussion SyndromePrevalenceQuality of LifeSelf ReportSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited Statesanxietycognitive functiondepressionfootballpostconcussion syndromesports injuries

Identifiers

PMID31468987
PMCPMC7163246

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.