A study from Harvard University shows one in three former NFL players believe they have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE.
“It’s used to describe a progressive, neurological neurodegenerative condition that's associated, as the name implies, with trauma, repetitive trauma in particular,” said Dr. Thomas McAllister, the Albert Eugene Sterne Professor of Psychiatry at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He has been studying mild traumatic brain injury for 30 years.
The study looked at survey responses from 1,980 retired professional American-style football players.
Right now, a diagnosis for CTE can only be made after a person has died, during an autopsy.
“When you look back at someone's life, either through medical records or by talking to the people who know them well, loved ones, family members, there is often an association with cognitive decline before they passed away. And also the other big hallmark of it is, a syndrome which many people refer to as neurobehavioral dyscontrol,” McAllister said. This can include signs and symptoms like excessive irritability, disinhibition, and poor judgment.
More than 91% of former NFL players were diagnosed with CTE in a study done by the Boston University CTE Center.
CTE isn't exclusive to football players. It can also affect anyone who has repeatedly been exposed to head trauma.
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The Harvard study notes that other conditions may have similar symptoms to those that have been attributed to CTE. Physicians can test for some of these other conditions, such as diabetes, sleep apnea, low testosterone and depression.
Because clinical guidelines and treatments are not available for CTE yet, doctors recommend positive health changes like weight loss, exercise, a low-salt diet, and better sleep, for example.
Of the former NFL players surveyed in the Harvard University study, 25% reported frequent thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
Even after the study took depression, anxiety, and other risk factors into account, those who believed they possibly had CTE were twice as likely to have frequent thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
If you or someone you know needs help, call, text, or chat 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Prevention Lifeline.
@scrippsnews A new survey of former professional #football players found that 35% believe they have #CTE ♬ original sound - Scripps News
