Age of First Exposure to Contact and Collision Sports and Later in Life Brain Health: A Narrative Review

Frontiers in Neurology

Jaclyn B. Caccese¹  Grant L. Iverson³  Fionn Büttner⁵ 

[1] Chronic Brain Injury Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States;Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States;Home Base, A Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, Charlestown, MA, United States;School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States;School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland;Spaulding Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States;Sports Concussion Program, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States;

关键词: football;    chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE);    concussion;    mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI);    repetitive head impacts;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fneur.2021.727089

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

A controversial theory proposes that playing tackle football before the age of 12 causes later in life brain health problems. This theory arose from a small study of 42 retired National Football League (NFL) players, which reported that those who started playing tackle football at a younger age performed worse on selected neuropsychological tests and a word reading test. The authors concluded that these differences were likely due to greater exposure to repetitive neurotrauma during a developmentally sensitive maturational period in their lives. Several subsequent studies of current high school and collegiate contact/collision sports athletes, and former high school, collegiate, and professional tackle football players have not replicated these findings. This narrative review aims to (i) discuss the fundamental concepts, issues, and controversies surrounding existing research on age of first exposure (AFE) to contact/collision sport, and (ii) provide a balanced interpretation, including risk of bias assessment findings, of this body of evidence. Among 21 studies, 11 studies examined former athletes, 8 studies examined current athletes, and 2 studies examined both former and current athletes. Although the literature on whether younger AFE to tackle football is associated with later in life cognitive, neurobehavioral, or mental health problems in former NFL players is mixed, the largest study of retired NFL players (N = 3,506) suggested there was not a significant association between earlier AFE to organized tackle football and worse subjectively experienced cognitive functioning, depression, or anxiety. Furthermore, no published studies of current athletes show a significant association between playing tackle football (or other contact/collision sports) before the age of 12 and cognitive, neurobehavioral, or mental health problems. It is important to note that all studies were judged to be at high overall risk of bias, indicating that more methodologically rigorous research is needed to understand whether there is an association between AFE to contact/collision sports and later in life brain health. The accumulated research to date suggests that earlier AFE to contact/collision sports is not associated with worse cognitive functioning or mental health in (i) current high school athletes, (ii) current collegiate athletes, or (iii) middle-aged men who played high school football. The literature on former NFL players is mixed and does not, at present, clearly support the theory that exposure to tackle football before age 12 is associated with later in life cognitive impairment or mental health problems.

【 授权许可】

Unknown