title: Cognitive and psychosocial function in retired professional hockey players.
abstract: The relationship between repeated concussions and neurodegenerative disease has received significant attention, particularly research in postmortem samples. Our objective was to characterise retired professional ice hockey players' cognitive and psychosocial functioning in relation to concussion exposure and apolipoprotein ε4 status.
  
  
  
  Alumni athletes (N=33, aged 34-71 years) and an age-matched sample of comparison participants (N=18) were administered measures of cognitive function and questionnaires concerning psychosocial and psychiatric functioning.
  
  
  
  No significant group differences were found on neuropsychological measures of speeded attention, verbal memory or visuospatial functions, nor were significant differences observed on computerised measures of response speed, inhibitory control and visuospatial problem solving. Reliable group differences in cognitive performance were observed on tests of executive and intellectual function; performance on these measures was associated with concussion exposure. Group differences were observed for cognitive, affective and behavioural impairment on psychosocial questionnaires and psychiatric diagnoses. There was no evidence of differential effects associated with age in the alumni athletes. Possession of an apolipoprotein ε4 allele was associated with increased endorsement of psychiatric complaints, but not with objective cognitive performance.
  
  
  
  We found only subtle objective cognitive impairment in alumni athletes in the context of high subjective complaints and psychiatric impairment. Apolipoprotein ε4 status related to psychiatric, but not cognitive status. These findings provide benchmarks for the degree of cognitive and behavioural impairment in retired professional athletes and a point of comparison for future neuroimaging and longitudinal studies.
authors.affiliation: Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.|Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8607-5633
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Esopenko
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.affiliation: Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.|Division of Neurology, Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Maria Carmela
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tartaglia
authors.affiliation: Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bacopulos
authors.affiliation: Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.|Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.|University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Malcolm A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Binns
authors.affiliation: Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Canada.|University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000032:analysis; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006688:Hockey / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D012179:Retirement; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4