Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42319726›Full record

ArticleSports medicine - open2026

Associations Between Football-Related Exposures, Head Injury, Tinnitus, and Neuropsychological Health Outcomes Among Professional American-Style Football Players.

Niki A Konstantinides, Michael Leung, Rachel Grashow, Jo Ann Pugh, Elizabeth Nolan, Alicia J Whittington, Frank E Speizer, Herman A Taylor, Aaron L Baggish, Ross D Zafonte and 1 more

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Article in Sports medicine - open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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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

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Niki A KonstantinidesHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA. nkonstantinides@hsph.harvard.edu.
Michael LeungHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Rachel GrashowHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Jo Ann PughIndependent Researcher, Dallas, TX, USA.
Elizabeth NolanHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Alicia J WhittingtonHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Frank E SpeizerHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Herman A TaylorHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Aaron L BaggishHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Ross D ZafonteHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Marc G WeisskopfHarvard Medical School, Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesAuditory dysfunction such as tinnitus is a common sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and has been associated with neurobehavioral outcomes, including cognitive decline, depression, and anxiety. Few studies have examined associations between concussion history and tinnitus independent of confounding by blast injury or occupational noise exposure. This study investigated concussion history and tinnitus among former professional American-style football (ASF) players, and evaluated whether tinnitus mediates associations between concussion history and neurobehavioral outcomes.

methodsThis cross-sectional study included former ASF players who contracted with a professional league after 1960 and completed self-administered questionnaires between 2019-2025. Surveys assessed football exposure, auditory dysfunction, and mental health. Cumulative head injury exposure was measured using self-reported concussion signs and symptoms during play. Tinnitus was self-reported and assessed concurrently with validated measures of perceived cognition, depression, and anxiety. Logistic regression evaluated associations between concussion symptom history and tinnitus, and linear regression models assessed mediation and interaction effects.

resultsAmong 1085 participants (mean age 57.9 ± 13.5 years; 32.4% Black; 6.1 ± 3.7 seasons), greater concussion symptom history was associated with increased odds of tinnitus (highest vs. lowest quintile: OR = 2.90; 95%CI 1.91-4.43; p < 0.0001). Tinnitus did not mediate associations between concussion symptom history and neurobehavioral outcomes. However, associations with perceived cognition (p-interaction = 0.1), depression (p-interaction < 0.01), and anxiety (p-interaction < 0.01) were larger among participants reporting tinnitus.

conclusionGreater concussion symptom history was associated with increased reporting of tinnitus, and neurobehavioral associations were stronger among those with tinnitus. Clinicians should consider tinnitus when evaluating long-term cognitive and mental health outcomes following repeated head injury.

Indexed as

ConcussionFootballRepeated head injuryTinnitus

Identifiers

PMID42319726
PMCPMC13282427

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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.