Prevalence and Characterization of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Retired National Football League Players
Open accessAbstract
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. (JINS, 2013,19, 1–8)
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Multiple studies have demonstrated cognitive deficits in retired NFL players on neurological and neuropsychological examination.
“Multiple studies have also demonstrated cognitive deficits in retired NFL players on neurological and neuropsychological examination [63, 87, 157]”
From The neuropathology of sport (2014) · cites this paper as [157]
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- Authors
- Randolph, C., Karantzoulis, S., & Guskiewicz, K.
- Affiliations
- Loyola University Medical Center (US)
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Randolph, Christopher
- Venue
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2013-08-01
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 873-880
- ISSN
- 1355-6177 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7661
- OpenAlex
- W2129636510
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 8.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- cdr.lib.unc.edu
- Locations
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
- UNC Libraries
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Cancer-related cognitive impairment studies
- Keywords
- mild cognitive impairment, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, repetitive head trauma, contact sports, Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, prevalence of cognitive impairment, neuropsychological profile
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Football, Humans, Intelligence Tests, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Retirement, Retrospective Studies, Cognitive Dysfunction
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