Concepts de base
A significant proportion of former professional football players believe they have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts.
Résumé
The article discusses a study that examined the self-reported prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among former professional football players in the United States. Key points:
- CTE is a neurodegenerative condition that has been associated with repeated head trauma, particularly in contact sports like American football.
- The only way to definitively diagnose CTE is through post-mortem examination of the brain, but researchers have developed a "traumatic encephalopathy syndrome" (TES) to identify the condition in living individuals.
- The study found that 34.4% of the 1,980 former professional football players surveyed believed they had CTE.
- Those who believed they had CTE were more likely to be younger, Black, taking prescription pain medication, and experiencing headaches compared to those who did not believe they had CTE.
- Importantly, 25.4% of those who believed they had CTE reported experiencing suicidal thoughts, compared to only 5% of those who did not believe they had CTE.
- The author notes that while the self-diagnosis may not be medically accurate, the perception of having CTE is still a significant risk factor for suicidal ideation, independent of depression.
- The findings suggest that healthcare providers should inquire about players' beliefs regarding CTE, as this could be an important indicator of mental health risk, even if the diagnosis cannot be confirmed.
Stats
"Fully 25.4% of those who thought they had CTE reported feeling suicidal at least some of the time. Compare that with 5% of those who did not think they had CTE."
"681 out of 1980 (34.4%) said yes." (to the question "Do you believe you have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)?")
Citations
"These are scary numbers."
"What remains unknown here is whether the players are right or not. The only way to truly diagnose CTE, at least for now, is on autopsy."
"But honestly, regardless of whether this self-diagnosis is accurate, the implication remains. These individuals feel something is wrong — and that wrongness puts them at higher risk for suicidal thoughts and, presumably, death from suicide."