RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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A study published on Aug. 25 by The BMJ found that at least 25% of former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the brain disease better known by the acronym CTE.
The researchers conducting the study examined the brains of 235 of the 878 former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021, and found that 215 of them had the disease. A finding that 215 of 878 former players had CTE equates to a rate of at least 24.5%.
The study, led by Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, thus concluded that 25% was the "low end" of the spectrum and that the maximum possible prevalence of CTE was 97%, while the true rate is likely "somewhere in the middle" of those two numbers.
"Community brain bank studies have shown that CTE affects less than 1% of the general population. To find that somewhere between 24.5% and 97.7% of NFL players from that time period had this progressive brain disease is a wake-up call for the NFL and scientific communities," said Daneshvar, who is the Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham and Earl P. and Ida S. Charlton Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. "These data, alongside my experience treating NFL players with dementia in clinic, indicate that we need to dedicate resources towards developing a cure."
The study also examined the link between CTE and dementia, finding that 61.3% of brain donors with CTE met clinical criteria for dementia, with more severe stages of CTE most frequently associated with a dementia diagnosis. Among those with Stage I CTE, the rate was 29.2%; with Stage II CTE, the rate was 22.5%; with Stage III CTE, the rate was 56.5%; and with Stage IV CTE, the rate was 90.4%.
The researchers included a visual abstract to explain their findings.
"The NFL continuously strives to make the game of football safer, including by implementing strategies to reduce concussions and head impacts," the league said in a statement. "The NFL remains committed to ensuring that the NFL community has access to a robust -- and expanding -- set of resources to enhance their physical and mental well being."
The NFL Players Association said that the study "is a sobering reminder that football carries real risks, and those risks can have lasting consequences for players and their families," per The New York Times . "The findings should serve as a call to action across the entire football ecosystem."
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