The more hits to the head an amateur football player takes, the greater the risk that he will be depressed, have difficulty making decisions or develop other forms of cognitive impairment as an adult, a preliminary study suggests.
The study by Boston University researchers published in the Journal of Neurotrauma on Thursday is the first of its kind to look at the connection between the cumulative number of impacts sustained from youth football through college and later-in-life mental difficulties, according to Dr. Robert Stern, one of the co-authors.....
The study looked at 93 former amateur football players and, based on their positions and years of experience, calculated how many head hits they likely sustained over their careers. It found that — once a threshold is reached — the risk of later-life cognitive, mood and behavioral impairment increases as the hit count increases.
"Measuring head impact exposure is very difficult," said Yorghos Tripodis, another co-author. "We don't have helmet accelerometers on everybody so we can go back and say, 'How many hits did you have over your lifetime?'"
The study focused on subconcussive blows and not just the ones that are forceful enough to cause concussions. Stern said the focus on concussions has been beneficial, because it has led youth and professional leagues to develop return to play guidelines and other gains in concussion management.
