Study: Alzheimer’s death risk higher for former NFL players
A new study published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) finds that National Football League (NFL) players may be at a higher risk of death associated with Alzheimer’s and other impairments of the brain and nervous system than the general U.S. population. These results are consistent with recent studies by other research institutions that suggest an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease among football players.
The paper published in the Sept. 5, 2012 issue of the journal Neurology®, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, looked at 3,439 NFL players who played at least five seasons between 1959-1988. The study relied on death certificate information for causes of death; at the time of analysis only 10 percent of the participants had died. Of the 334 players who had died, Alzheimer’s, ALS and Parkinson’s Disease were listed for 17 of them.