title: Prevalence and characterization of mild cognitive impairment in retired national football league players.
abstract: It has been hypothesized that exposure to repetitive head trauma from contact sports over a long-playing career may eventuate in an increased risk of late-life cognitive impairment. There are currently two competing hypotheses about the possible mechanism underlying such impairment. One is the presence of a unique neurodegenerative disorder known as ‘‘chronic traumatic encephalopathy’’ (CTE). The other is diminished cerebral reserve leading to the earlier clinical expression of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease(AD). The present study examined informant AD8 inventory data in a sample of 513 retired National Football League(NFL) players. These data were indicative of possible cognitive impairment in 35.1% of this relatively young sample. A comparison of neurocognitive profiles in a subsample of this group to a clinical sample of patients with a diagnosis of MCI due to AD revealed a highly similar profile of impairments. Overall, the data suggest that there may be an increased prevalence of late-life cognitive impairment in retired NFL players, which may reflect diminished cerebral reserve. The findings are considered preliminary, but emphasize the need for larger, controlled studies on this issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA. crandol@lumc.edu
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Randolph
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karantzoulis
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guskiewicz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012179:Retirement / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies