Background: Former professional collision sport (CS) athletes, particularly American football players, are at risk of developing chronic health conditions; however, little is known about the health outcomes of amateur athletes.
Methods: A 60-item health survey examined self-reported symptoms and diagnoses among former Division 1 Collegiate CS athletes and non- or limited-contact sport (non-CS) athletes. Binary logistic regressions tested the association between playing CS and health outcomes.
Results: Five hundred and two (6.2%) participants completed the survey: 160 CS athletes (mean age: 59.2, SD = 16.0) and 303 non-CS athletes (mean age: 54.0, SD = 16.9). CS athletes had increased odds of reported cognitive complaints and neuropsychiatric symptoms including memory (Padj < 0.01), attention/concentration (Padj = 0.01), problem solving/multi-tasking (Padj = 0.05), language (Padj = 0.02), anxiety (Padj = 0.04), impulsivity (Padj = 0.02), short-fuse/rage/explosivity (Padj < 0.001), and violence/aggression (Padj = 0.02). CS athletes also reported higher rates of sleep apnea (Padj = 0.02). There were no group differences in cardiovascular and physical health outcomes.
Conclusions: Former CS athletes reported more cognitive and neuropsychiatric complaints. The low response rate is a limitation of this study; however, over 500,000 athletes play college sports each year, thus research on long-term health outcomes in this population is critical.
Keywords: College athletes; aging athlete; contact and collision sports; football (American); head injuries/concussion; head trauma; repetitive head impacts.