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Medicine Science

NFL Players With Long and Short Careers Have Similar Death Risk, Study Finds (reuters.com) 145

Posted by BeauHD from the cause-and-effect dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared 2,933 athletes who played in the National Football League for an average of five years to 879 "replacement players" who filled in for three games during a mid-1980s strike, finding no statistically significant difference in rates of death from all causes. Critics said the research had several flaws and pointed to a study released last year that found 99 percent of deceased former NFL players whose brains were analyzed post-mortem showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to repeated hits to the head that can lead to aggression and dementia. The latest study found that the leading cause of death among the NFL career players was cardiometabolic disease, which entails greater risk of heart attack and stroke, followed by transportation injuries and unintentional injuries.

"This new study seems to support other previous studies that have not shown an increase in mortality among NFL players when compared to similar cohorts," an NFL spokeswoman said. "As with all new research on this topic, we will look at it closely to see what we can learn to better enhance the well-being of our current and former players," the spokeswoman said.
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NFL Players With Long and Short Careers Have Similar Death Risk, Study Finds More

NFL Players With Long and Short Careers Have Similar Death Risk, Study Finds

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  • It's time. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Thursday February 01, 2018 @11:38PM (#56052643)

    It's time we start ending school sponsored football programs. There are plenty of other sports that don't involve brain damage. I'm not saying outlaw it, just don't promote it at schools.

    • Soccer, too. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Ungrounded Lightning ( 62228 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @12:10AM (#56052757) Journal

      It's time we start ending school sponsored football programs. There are plenty of other sports that don't involve brain damage.

      Soccer, too. That involves hitting the ball with your head, hard, repeatedly, and was shown to be causing brain damage even before (pigskin-style) football.

      • Re:Soccer, too. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @01:00AM (#56052901)

        It's time we start ending school sponsored football programs. There are plenty of other sports that don't involve brain damage.

        Soccer, too. That involves hitting the ball with your head, hard, repeatedly, and was shown to be causing brain damage even before (pigskin-style) football.

        Soccer has an easy fix, just prohibit hitting the ball with your head.

      • Or for soccer, just change the rules if that's the case.

      • Re:Soccer, too. (Score:5, Informative)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @04:36AM (#56053475) Homepage Journal

        Various professional football (soccer) bodies are looking at banning heading the ball for this reason. A lot of trainers don't allow younger players to do it already.

        • Various professional football (soccer) bodies are looking at banning heading the ball for this reason. A lot of trainers don't allow younger players to do it already.

          Football is for feet!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Mal-2 ( 675116 )

        It doesn't help that in a set piece such as a corner, it's not one player going up for the ball, it's four or five, and all of them are tracking the ball, not each other. Head-to-head collisions are the result.

      • I saw a Real Sports story about the concussion dangers of soccer, and the concussions don't come from heads hitting the balls, they come from heads hitting other heads and the poles of the goal. Same game event, different cause.

    • It's time we start ending school sponsored football programs.

      It's also time we stop awarding half of a player's NFL pension to a wife who divorces him. [theshermanlawgroup.com]

      If you don't want to take care of a husband with brain damage, I completely understand.

      But you better leave his pension alone.

      • Why should a pension being treated differently from any other marital asset?

        • A pension plan is a safety net for your twilight years. In the US, not everyone gets one. To my lay knowledge, a pension is the only asset that can not be lost during bankruptcy proceedings. Repeated brain injuries can lead to a serious disability later in life. In my opinion, the one who suffered those injuries while married is the one who should receive most of those payments.

          And I would be saying the exact same thing if, for instance, an NFL player's wife was more prone to get early dementia than her hus

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rikkards ( 98006 )

      And full contact hockey.

    • Nonsense. They say the Battle of Waterloo was 'won on the playing-fields of Eton'. A bit of physical aggression is entirely natural in citizens of a world power.

      To be quite honest I'd be up for arming the football players. Or enhancing them with cybernetic cannons. According to my calculations the 21st century will be 27.2% bloodier than the 20th.

      At the very least we need to legalise steroid use.

    • Re:It's time. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @08:59AM (#56054085) Journal

      Or maybe let people make up their own minds instead of taking a nanny state approach?

      My father played football, including division 1 collegiate, until he was knocked cold while tackling Jim McNamara. He woke up the next day in his dorm room, had trouble reading ever since (which we know now for sure was a result). At age 70, he suffered a massive paralyzing stroke which may very well have been a result of umpteen concussions.

      I played football in high school and was being recruited for college play but was unable to continue due to significant injuries to my knees and back, as well as a dislocated shoulder, broken ankle, and 7 bones in my hands on one instance.

      My oldest son played football in high school and college, having an injury free career until 2 concussions left him with some memory issues.

      My sister asked us all the other day at dinner if we would play again, knowing what we would have to suffer. My answer was easy, as my injuries have only left me now a little pain & slow to get up it 50. Even I was surprised when both my father and son absolutely, immediately, said yes as well.

      So maybe you don't choose for us, and let people make their now better informed choices by themselves ?

      • Or maybe let people make up their own minds instead of taking a nanny state approach?

        I which universe does suggesting schools not promote something count as being a "nanny state approach"? The nanny state approach would be prohibiting young people from playing football. I'm simply suggesting that schools not promote it. People would still be able to put their kids into football leagues if they choose, just not ones supported by tax dollars.

      • So maybe you don't choose for us, and let people make their now better informed choices by themselves ?

        I have two broken bones, one torn ACL, and a torn labrum from football (played from 4th grade to 9th grade). Luckily I wasn't a running back or receiver, so most of the headshots I took didn't lead to concussions. I stopped playing in high school because I got tired of visiting the doctor.

        Here's the problem, we are better informed, but we are far from informed completely and there were deliberate efforts to suppress that knowledge. In addition, kids under 18 don't know the consequences, and many of the p

    • Re:It's time. (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Shotgun ( 30919 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @12:02PM (#56055251)

      When I was in high school, I noted that football was the only sport that had an ambulance on standby. I found that mind blowing, even at the time. They pretty much ASSUMED that within the next two hours someone was going to be injured badly enough to need an ambulance. How the HELL was this EVER supported by the school administration?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by JD-1027 ( 726234 )
        $



        Cat got your tongue? (something important seems to be missing from your comment ... like the body or the subject!)

  • A football career doesn't start in the NFL (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Pinky's Brain ( 1158667 ) on Thursday February 01, 2018 @11:47PM (#56052671)

    They start their competitive career in inducing brain damage in high school.

    Why would it kill you any sooner? Headaches aren't lethal and you don't need to be a genius to get old. It's about quality of life, not duration. Of course for NFL millionaires it might all be worth it, it's the much larger number of players who don't get drafted but are still forced to live with migraines and other fun consequences of concussions who are the real losers.

    • Re:A football career doesn't start in the NFL (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Aighearach ( 97333 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @01:44AM (#56053037)

      And guys like these "replacement" players, who were obviously already playing frequently. It isn't like the brought in tennis players during the strike, they were all still football players putting enough time into it that they were aspiring pros! So even if the problem was early death rather than quality of life, this would still not really be very significant; just comparing players with fancy uniforms to players who only got to wear fancy uniforms a few times.

      • Perhaps those with longer careers make more money and use it to offset the harm created by longer playing, longevity-wise.

        It's not for us to judge though. I'm sure there are NFL players with great careers who suffered greatly after they stopped playing and still think every second of it was worth it. And there are others who regret they ever stepped on the field. It is for each person to make the call.

        • You're the one offering that sort of judgement, instead of saying it isn't for you to judge and then judging, why not just not say either?

          If we were talking about the death rates after jumping off buildings, it would also be about the death rate and not about any judgment of it. If you don't value their life, why not keep it to yourself?

          • Judgement is whether something is right or wrong, it's prescriptive, what you should do. My observation about money to offset the harm, if true, is merely descriptive, what happens. There is no right or wrong attached to it.

            What I'm saying is it is not for us to say whether playing a rough sport is right or wrong. I would prefer people to be alive and healthy and safe, but I also want them to find thrill and sense of purpose in life, rather than being safe and depressed. Those two goals are sometimes mutual

    • Re:A football career doesn't start in the NFL (Score:5, Informative)

      by Kiuas ( 1084567 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @04:11AM (#56053415)

      They start their competitive career in inducing brain damage in high school.

      Why would it kill you any sooner? Headaches aren't lethal and you

      Erm... as someone who's had cerebral palsy since birth due to damage to the motor cortex caused during a premature birth I have some news for you: the consequences of brain damage are not limited to headaches and migraines.

      It's about quality of life, not duration.

      Exactly. And if you look at what chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which to my knowledge is the most common neurodegenerative condition for contact sport athletes with repeated head injury causes, you'll find a whole host of symptoms, quoting the wiki [wikipedia.org]:

      Symptoms of CTE, which occur in four stages, generally appear 8 to 10 years after an athlete experiences repetitive mild traumatic brain injury.

      First-stage symptoms include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as confusion, disorientation, dizziness, and headaches. Second-stage symptoms include memory loss, social instability, impulsive behavior, and poor judgment. Third and fourth stages include progressive dementia, movement disorders, hypomimia, speech impediments, sensory processing disorder, tremors, vertigo, deafness, depression and suicidality.

      Additional symptoms include dysarthria, dysphagia, cognitive disorder such as amnesia, and ocular abnormalities, such as ptosis.

      The condition manifests as dementia, or declining mental ability, problems with memory, dizzy spells or lack of balance to the point of not being able to walk under one's own power for a short time and/or Parkinsonism, or tremors and lack of coordination. It can also cause speech problems and an unsteady gait. Patients with DP may be prone to inappropriate or explosive behavior and may display pathological jealousy or paranoia

      Now, I don't know about you, but to me these are all things which impact one's quality of life significantly and are far more serious than headaches.

    • Kids where I grew up started in Middle School. And where I live now they've got PeeWee teams all over the place. I imagine the intensity is lower at these levels but the risk of head injuries is still there.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shotgun ( 30919 )

      They start their competitive career in inducing brain damage in KINDERGARTEN.

      FTFY.

      Reference top of page 15 [cdrams.com]. TINY MITE: 7 years and under.

  • One says lifespan is the same. The other says quality of life suffers. These are not mutually exclusive.

    The league is perhaps being a bit deliberately obtuse given that they're sitting on a potential liability powder keg.

    • In other words, if you're an NFL athlete.

      The bad news: Your relatives, the younger ungrateful ones that have been mooching from you for your entire career, will be the only ones left to take care of you until you're 80 or 90 years old.

      The good news: You'll have early Alzheimers and you won't remember a thing anyway.

  • The CTEs don't kill you (unless you count the suicides), but they will turn you into a drooling wreck like Jim McMahon.

    The main thing that's been keeping the NFL afloat is gambling, and thanks to the much higher incidence of injury, the gamblers are finally starting to abandon it for more interesting games, like basketball, baseball, hockey. As a veteran fantasy football player, I can tell you that practically all of the skill has been taken out of it, making it much less fun. This year, I lost my stud, #

    • Billions of dollars are at stake with the NFL. You think that is just going to evaporate?

      • It wouldn't be the first time that billions of dollars went up in smoke overnight.

      • Re:Yeah right (Score:5, Interesting)

        by PopeRatzo ( 965947 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @01:12AM (#56052939) Journal

        Billions of dollars are at stake with the NFL. You think that is just going to evaporate?

        Boxing was the biggest sport in the world at one time. At all levels from CYO to Golden Gloves to amateur to pros. At all weight classes. In our lifetime. Now they struggle to find enough boxers to fill a card, and it's just a footnote. Yes, it can all evaporate. Pop Warner and high school programs are already hurting in most of the US because kids don't want to play football or their parents won't let them. Maybe it will become a regional sport, like NASCAR, but the end is just over the horizon for football as a national sport.

        I love football, but it's on its way out. I don't think there is a way to save it.

        • My observation is that players have been getting bigger and bigger (at least in some positions) since I was a kid. How much do you think weight limits on players would impact things? Or suppose we removed all the shoulder pads so players wouldn't hit as hard?

          • Bigger and faster. You've got guys over 300 lbs in the NFL who can run a 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. Jadeveon Clowney goes about 270 lbs and can run it in 4.5. Someone like that hits you at speed and something's gotta give. It's just physics.

            • I didn't even think about speed improvements. I suppose you could regulate player weights (overall or per position) but you'd be unable to do anything about speed and that's going to be the bigger hitter. Well short of playing in knee deep water....

              Wonder if reduced padding might also help to mitigate some of the intensity of the hits.

    • Wow, that was a really nasty slur to use against the part of America where all the black people live.

    • Re:Football will be gone in 10-20 years (Score:4, Insightful)

      by quantaman ( 517394 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @04:36AM (#56053473)

      The CTEs don't kill you (unless you count the suicides), but they will turn you into a drooling wreck like Jim McMahon.

      CTE leads to dementia, and that will shorten your life expectancy.

      There seems to be two main criticisms of this study. First they're talking about players from the mid-80s, so even if they were 30 at the time they'd still be early-to-mid 60s, more likely they're late 50s. That's earlier than you'd expect CTE to really start shortening life expectancy (plus you might not have enough deaths to detect a smaller difference).

      Second, they're comparing people who played football at a very high level to people who played football at a slightly higher level. If one group has CTE issues I'd expect both to.

      The main thing that's been keeping the NFL afloat is gambling, and thanks to the much higher incidence of injury, the gamblers are finally starting to abandon it for more interesting games, like basketball, baseball, hockey. As a veteran fantasy football player, I can tell you that practically all of the skill has been taken out of it, making it much less fun. This year, I lost my stud, #1pick running back, David Johnson very early in the season, and I only made the playoffs because the other good players also lost their best picks as the season wore on.

      And football continues to be a game of exploitation. Parents are putting their kids in football programs in the same numbers any more (except in the South, where brain damage is less noticeable) and I expect football to go the way of boxing. Another fine sport that just got to be too depressing to enjoy.

      The attraction isn't gambling it's culture. Especially in the US South it's extremely ingrained into communities and football does have a number of fairly unusual characteristics among sports:
      1) Virtually every male body type is well suited towards a position on the football field.
      2) It has large rosters so significant portions of high school populations can participate.
      3) It creates a very strict social hierarchy.
      4) It has a much higher level of planning and organization than other sports

      However, the large rosters are also its weakness, I expect CTE worries to drop a lot of schools below the critical mass of kids needed, and a lot of regions are going to lose high school football. And the kids who didn't play football will become adults who don't watch it, and football will become a regional sport in the south.

  • Who the fuck CARES! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    How is this news for nerds...

  • So? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Kohath ( 38547 )

    NFL players don’t spend their time worrying about your problems. And if they did, wouldn’t you tell them to mind their own business?

  • compared 2,933 athletes who played in the National Football League for an average of five years to 879 "replacement players" who filled in for three games during a mid-1980s strike

    These replacement players would have been playing and practising when not playing in the NFL. They probably received a similar number of head impacts. Why would anyone expect a different mortality rate?

    It's not the NFL that's dangerous: it's the sport.

    The NFL are scum: I recently heard an NFL doctor claim that head impacts are ju

    • It is the sport, but also, soccer is really bad too. Add hockey, and it is probably the only three popular modern sports that include lots of head injury.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rikkards ( 98006 )

        The three are the worst sports not because of the head injuries but because of the fact that kids are indoctrinated so early. Even though contact is not condoned early on (well less so in Hockey and Soccer than Football) accidents happen and when you include the fact these are maturing brains involved the injuries are even more concerning

    • Well, head impacts ARE just as common in soccer, if not more so. Unlike soccer, in football it is now against the rules to intentionally have a head impact (either. In soccer, head impact (heading the ball) is actually one of the strategies which is practiced
  • But clearly these were all still players with long football careers, certainly having played from high school through to going pro, so still likely to have similar issues due to many years of head smashing activity. This hardly redeems the NFL of responsibility, it just means that for the problems to occur doesn't require playing at the highest level.

  • How Much Death Risk Is That? (Score:3)

    by Greyfox ( 87712 ) on Friday February 02, 2018 @02:56AM (#56053231) Homepage Journal
    I'm guessing 100%, just like everyone else?

    • I don't know if I trust your extrapolation. We only have data on something like 13 out of every 14 people who have ever lived. That's a long way from 100%.

      While you didn't include any decimals, you're betting that there's less than a one in 7.5 billion chance that someone's genetically immortal. Seems like a risky gamble to me. Have you ever counted 7.5 billion of anything? It turns out that it's rather a lot.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Greyfox ( 87712 )
        I'm guessing they find out in the next couple decades that the telomere is in place as a biological defense against cancer. So assuming you don't have one of those (like those jellyfish, or the naked mole rat,) AND you don't just eventually melt into a cancerous puddle, that's not going to keep you from getting hit by a bus or falling off a ladder or any of a billion other things that eventually kill so many of us before we die of old age. It probably also doesn't protect us from any of the really nasty dis

  • Did those replacement players only ever play 3 games, or did they only play 3 games at professional level?
    Chances are those "replacement players" were just second rate players who weren't quite good enough to play for the major teams, but still played regularly as amateurs or for lower tier teams.

    • Back then there wasn't as much opportunity from organizations like Arena Football or the Canadian Football League. Those organizations existed, but with lower numbers of teams and roster sizes, and there were fewer private club leagues. Most of the replacements were recent NFL cuts (and this group was counted as a regular NFL player vs simple replacement player) or had played in college, but otherwise were not directly involved with football.
    • Guaranteed they played 4 years of college plus high school and probably younger, so yeah, they had plenty of opportunities to get their bells rung.
  • Eh, I personally like rugby better because of the continuous action - ball changes possession, or one team scores, the game goes on until the period is up - none of this stopping or starting bullshit, plus it just feels easier to understand because it feels like it is one game tat was kept simpler.

    None of the complications of downs, and all those extraneous rules that I just have difficulty following.Easier to understand, for me, how the ball can or can't travel, how things like lineouts and rucks work is

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