|
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that the suicide rate for nearly 3,500 retired
National Football League players who played at least five
seasons between 1959 and 1988 was less than half of what would
be expected among a comparable selection of the general
population based on gender, race and age.
The mounting evidence that football players can develop
neurological problems due to concussions and repeated head
trauma has prompted questions about whether those brain injuries
might lead former players to kill themselves more often.
Several high-profile players, including Pro Football Hall of
Fame member Junior Seau, committed suicide after developing
chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease
found in numerous former players that is linked to memory loss
and erratic behavior.
Last month, a federal judge approved the NFL's estimated $1
billion concussion settlement with thousands of retired players.
The CDC emphasized that the study "adds to the current
discussion about the relationship between playing football and
suicide risk, but does not resolve the issue of whether suicide
is more common among former football players."
The researchers did not have concussion histories or information
like genetic or environmental factors that might contribute to
suicide risk for any of the players studied.
The findings will appear in the May issue of the American
Journal of Sports Medicine.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax, editing by G Crosse)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
