Nearly all former NFL players in Boston University study diagnosed with CTE

[Muda69]

https://www.wcvb.com/article/boston-university-study-cte-study-majority-of-former-nfl-players-diagnosed/42782444#

Quote

The vast majority of the nearly 400 former NFL players who are part of a Boston University study have been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease that can cause memory loss, personality changes and erratic behavior, and the top risk factor appears to be repetitive hits to the head.

"We have 376 NFL players in the bank and we found CTE in 345, roughly 91.7 percent of them," said Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center. "To me, this is an unacceptably high risk and it cries out for something to be done."

BU researchers said they do not know how the rate they found in their study compares to the rate of CTE in all current and former NFL players, but the rate is significantly higher than the rate in other brain banks.

A 2018 study of brains donated to the Framingham Heart Study found only one out of 164 people had CTE, and the lone case was a former college football player.

There is no cure for CTE, but there are treatments available. Click here to learn more about the Concussion Legacy Foundation and click here for information on the CLF Help Line.

 

That's pretty high.  Is it worth the risk?

 

[Impartial_Observer]

4 hours ago, Muda69 said:

https://www.wcvb.com/article/boston-university-study-cte-study-majority-of-former-nfl-players-diagnosed/42782444#

That's pretty high.  Is it worth the risk?

 

Yes 

[Bobref]

There is another way to look at this. There are very few occupations/avocations that do not have long term physical effects. Know any old carpenters or bricklayers who don’t have chronic back issues or arthritis? It’s an occupational hazard, now well-documented. As to whether it’s worth the risk, that’s an individual choice.

[Muda69]

12 hours ago, Bobref said:

 Know any old carpenters or bricklayers who don’t have chronic back issues or arthritis?

Yes.  A retired carpenter.  He's in very good physical condition for his age and has neither of those ailments.

Must be good genes.

 

 

[Bobref]

2 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Yes.  A retired carpenter.  He's in very good physical condition for his age and has neither of those ailments.

Must be good genes.

Just like there are former NFL players who don’t have CTE.

[Muda69]

2 hours ago, Bobref said:

Just like there are former NFL players who don’t have CTE.

So over 90% of them having CTE does not surprise or alarm you?

How much will the NFL be paying out for expensive medical care for these retired veterans?  

Edited February 8 by Muda69

[Bobref]

35 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

So over 90% of them having CTE does not surprise or alarm you?

How much will the NFL be paying out for expensive medical care for these retired veterans?  

First of all, recognize that the gigantic selection bias makes this study scientifically invalid as “proof” of many of the sweeping conclusions attributed to it. If someone concludes that a large percentage of NFL players have or will develop CTE on the basis of this study, well, I’d like to have a crack at them on the witness stand.

My guess is that whatever $$ the League has to spend on healthcare for these players will be a minuscule percentage of what those retired veterans earned for the League and its current players.

Edited February 8 by Bobref

[Muda69]

3 hours ago, Bobref said:

First of all, recognize that the gigantic selection bias makes this study scientifically invalid as “proof” of many of the sweeping conclusions attributed to it. If someone concludes that a large percentage of NFL players have or will develop CTE on the basis of this study, well, I’d like to have a crack at them on the witness stand.

My guess is that whatever $$ the League has to spend on healthcare for these players will be a minuscule percentage of what those retired veterans earned for the League and its current players.

So to your lawyerly brain such a study needs to have 100% of former living and current NFL players included in it in order to be statistically viable.   Got it.

 

 

[Bobref]

32 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

So to your lawyerly brain such a study needs to have 100% of former living and current NFL players included in it in order to be statistically viable.   Got it.

 

Don’t put words in my mouth. That is not what I said at all.

[scarab527]

Either way, this study isn't be judged in a court of law, rather the court of public opinion. 

And it's not a good look for the NFL or football in general. 

[BTF]

On 2/7/2023 at 2:37 PM, Muda69 said:

https://www.wcvb.com/article/boston-university-study-cte-study-majority-of-former-nfl-players-diagnosed/42782444#

That's pretty high.  Is it worth the risk?

 

Most of them would probably answer "yes." Half those guys would be working a job that pays 60k per year versus the millions that they earned. 

[Muda69]

17 hours ago, Bobref said:

Don’t put words in my mouth. That is not what I said at all.

Then exactly what did you say?  Seemed pretty clear to me. 

What sample size or different methodology would negate this "gigantic selection bias" you so claim has occurred in the Boston U. study?

 

 

[First_Backer_Inside]

20 hours ago, BTF said:

Most of them would probably answer "yes." Half those guys would be working a job that pays 60k per year versus the millions that they earned. 

Bingo, you don't want CTE, don't go to the league and make millions of dollars. Get a 9-5 job. The answer to this question is that easy.

[US31]

Didn't read the article.....but curious if there is a large control group of non-NFL brains that are also being screened for CTE?

[Bobref]

7 hours ago, Muda69 said:

Then exactly what did you say?  Seemed pretty clear to me. 

What sample size or different methodology would negate this "gigantic selection bias" you so claim has occurred in the Boston U. study?

 

 

 

1 hour ago, US31 said:

Didn't read the article.....but curious if there is a large control group of non-NFL brains that are also being screened for CTE?

The selection biases are basically two:

First, CTE can only be diagnosed by post-mortem examination. Thus, only players who have died are examined. To the extent CTE has a negative effect on life expectancy, a sample of only players who have died is skewed toward a higher incidence of CTE. Second, the great majority of former players whose brains were examined post mortem exhibited symptoms of CTE while they were alive, again skewing the sampling in favor of a higher incidence of CTE. 

@US31had it exactly right. There is no control group.

If you go to the article published by Boston University, it contains this:

“The NFL player data should not be interpreted to suggest that 91.7 percent of all current and former NFL players have CTE, as brain bank samples are subject to selection biases.”

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

[Muda69]

Football:  Still a dangerous sport for your long term health prospects.

 

[Bobref]

3 hours ago, Muda69 said:

Football:  Still a dangerous sport for your long term health prospects.

 

I am unaware of any study that reaches that conclusion for subjects who play tackle football through the high school level, and then stop. Are you?

[Muda69]

32 minutes ago, Bobref said:

I am unaware of any study that reaches that conclusion for subjects who play tackle football through the high school level, and then stop. Are you?

No, I am not.  Just anecdotal story after story after story of NFL players who can hardly walk by the time they are 50 years of age.    And then there are these:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_players_with_chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy

 

 

[Bobref]

2 hours ago, Muda69 said:

No, I am not.  Just anecdotal story after story after story of NFL players who can hardly walk by the time they are 50 years of age.    And then there are these:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_players_with_chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy

 

 

One wonders when the rules changes, equipment improvements, increased neurological surveillance, elimination of most contact in practices, etc., will begin to show results in the CTE studies.

[PHJIrish]

Equipment improvements and some rule changes have been helpful in cutting down instances of CTE and other injuries.  Auto racing for example had a high rate of deadly accidents back in the early day, as late as the 1960's and '70's.  Improvement in equipment and track safety advancements has reduced that number greatly, and there not many sports more dangerous than auto racing.

It's up to families to figure what's best for their children.