Nearly a third of former football players believe they suffer from a degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), according to a new survey.
A study published in the medical journal JAMA Neurology found that about 34 percent of former professional football players had experienced health problems related to CTE and “reported being aware of CTE.”
According to the Indiana University School of Medicine, chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a “progressive degenerative” brain disease that affects people who have “suffered repeated concussions or traumatic brain injuries.”
Symptoms of CTE include memory loss, aggression, confusion, depression, erratic behavior, suicidal tendencies, anxiety and sleep disorders, and these symptoms can occur within months or even decades after a person suffers a “traumatic brain event.”
Stock photo of two professional football teams standing at the line of scrimmage.
Getty
The findings come from a Harvard University study of former professional football players from 1960 to 2020. The players were asked to fill out a questionnaire detailing their football position, career history, playing years and any health issues they had.
In total, 681 former athletes reported experiencing symptoms associated with CTE, including “subjective cognitive impairment,” “depressive symptoms, impaired emotional and behavioral control,” “low testosterone levels,” “headaches,” and pain.
Never miss a story: Sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
More than 300 former players reported suicidal thoughts. The report found that 171 (25%) of players who knew they had CTE reported suicidal thoughts, compared to 64 (5%) of players who did not think they had CTE. The study also found that about 20% of players who thought they had CTE reported being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or “another dementia.”
But the researchers noted that because CTE can only be diagnosed through post-mortem brain examination, they cannot be sure whether the players had CTE, or whether the disease was a direct result of their time playing football, or if it was due to other causes.
“The key takeaway from this study is that many of the conditions common to former NFL players — sleep apnea, low testosterone, high blood pressure, and chronic pain — can lead to problems with thinking, memory, and concentration,” Rachel Glashow, a Harvard neuroscientist and lead author of the study, said in a press release obtained by NPR.
“While we wait for advances in CTE research to better address the experiences of current athletes, there is an urgent need to identify treatable symptoms,” she continued. “Such efforts may reduce the likelihood that athletes will prematurely attribute their symptoms to CTE, leading to feelings of despair and thoughts of self-harm.”
Another report released last year by Boston University's CTE Center found that 345 former professional football players had been diagnosed with CTE, including former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rick Arrington and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ed Lothamer.
The report noted that “the prevalence of CTE among NFL players is unknown,” but that “repetitive head impacts appear to be the primary risk factor for CTE.”
