Individual and cumulative health afflictions are associated with greater impairment in physical and mental function in former professional style football players
Tenforde, Adam S. (Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School)
Cortez, Bryan (Harvard Medical School)
Coughlan-Gifford, Elaine (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Grashow, Rachel (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Baker, Jillian (Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School)
Baggish, Aaron (Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston))
Pascual Leone, Álvaro (Institut Germans Trias i Pujol. Institut Guttmann)
Nadler, Lee M. (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Speizer, Frank E. (Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Taylor, Herman A. (Morehouse School of Medicine)
Weisskopf, Marc G. (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Zafonte, Ross (Harvard Medical School (Boston, Estats Units d'Amèrica))
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Date:	2021
Abstract:	Former American style football players (ASF players) have recognized health concerns associated with prior sport participation. It remains unknown whether categorizations of current health conditions, referred to in this report as afflictions (conceptually framed as neurocognitive, cardiovascular, cardiometabolic, sleep apnea, and chronic pain) are associated with physical and mental function. To evaluate the association of afflictions to physical and mental function. It was hypothesized that former National Football League players with any affliction would have worse function compared to unafflicted participants. It was anticipated that multiple afflictions would result in cumulative loss of function. Cross-sectional retrospective design. Academic medical multisite hospital system. A total of 3913 of 15,611 former ASF players who played professionally from 1960 to 2019 (response rate 25%). Each participant completed the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Health Scale and Physical Function questionnaires. Responses were used to generate two physical function and one mental function subscale scores. Raw scores were converted to T-scores categorized as impaired (T-score < 40) or unimpaired (T-score ≥ 40). Primary analyses measured the association of affliction to function (impaired or unimpaired). After adjusting for confounders (age, race, position, number of seasons, age of first exposure to football, alcohol use, smoking history, and current body mass index), each affliction was associated with reduced physical function on the Global physical function subscale (risk ratio [RR] = 1. 23-2. 45, all P < . 005), physical function scale (RR = 1. 24-2. 75, all P < . 01), and mental function scale (RR = 1. 34-2. 87, all P < . 001), except that cardiovascular affliction was not associated with mental function (RR = 1. 15, P = . 15). The lowest functional measures were observed in those afflicted by chronic pain. Cumulative afflictions were associated with worse function. Afflictions are associated with cumulative reduction of function. Research evaluating how afflictions interact may help elucidate mechanisms for illness and develop interventions to optimize function.
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Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Pm & R, Vol. 14 (may 2021) , p. 30-39, ISSN 1934-1563

DOI: 10.1002/pmrj.12581
PMID: 33644969

10 p, 327.5 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut d'Investigació en Ciencies de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP)
Articles > Research articles
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