TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Neurocognitive outcomes of older National Football League retirees
JO  - Brain injury
A1  - Schaffert, Jeff
A1  - Didehbani, Nyaz
A1  - LoBue, Christian
A1  - Hart, John Jr
A1  - Motes, Michael
A1  - Rossetti, Heidi
A1  - Wilmoth, Kristin
A1  - Goette, Will
A1  - Lacritz, Laura
A1  - Cullum, C. Munro
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVE: Determine if head-injury exposure relates to later-in-life cognitive decline in older National Football League (NFL) retirees. <br><br>METHOD: NFL retirees (aged 50+) with or without cognitive impairment underwent baseline (n = 53) and follow-up (n = 29; 13-59 months later) neuropsychological evaluations. Cognitively normal (CN) retirees (n = 26) were age- and education-matched to healthy controls (n = 26). Cognitively impaired (CI) retirees with mild cognitive impairment or dementia (n = 27) were matched to a clinical sample (CS) by age, sex, education, and diagnosis (n = 83). ANOVAs compared neuropsychological composites at baseline and over time between retirees and their matched groups. Regression models evaluated whether concussions, concussions with loss of consciousness (LOC), or games played predicted neuropsychological functioning. <br><br>RESULTS: At baseline, CN retirees had slightly worse memory than controls (M(CN retirees) = 50.69, SE(CN retirees) = 1.320; M(Healthy controls) = 57.08, SE(Healthy controls) = 1.345; p = 0.005). No other group diferences were observed, and head-injury exposure did not predict neurocognitive performance at baseline or over time. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Head-injury exposure was not associated with later-in-life cognition, regardless of cognitive diagnosis. Some retirees may exhibit lower memory scores compared to age-matched peers, though this is of unclear clinical significance.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0269-9052
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2022.2143567
ID  - ref1
ER  -