A recent study looking at more than 4,000 former professional football players showed no connection between starting the sport before age 12 and higher rates of depression, anxiety, dementia or memory problems later in life, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Harvard University found.
The Football Players Health Study at Harvard University collected data from 4,189 former NFL athletes who spanned the ages of 24-89. While former professional players who started playing before age 12 had more cumulative football exposure (as in, total duration of their football career and more signs/symptoms of sports-related concussions during their career), there was no evidence that the group who started playing organized football younger had more cognitive, mood, sleep, cardiovascular or other health issues later in life, the researchers wrote.
These results, published in Sports Medicine, contrast with previous small studies from a decade ago. A series of prior studies evaluated a few dozen symptomatic former professional football players and found that those who started in the sport before age 12 had health problems — such as worse depression, greater apathy and structural brain differences —in their post-career years compared to those who started playing football at age 12 and after, said Douglas Terry, PhD, assistant professor and clinical neuropsychologist in the Department of Neurological Surgery and co-director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center.
“I believe this is the largest study on this topic, and we didn’t see a signal that starting to play before 12 led to adverse health outcomes. The huge number of survey respondents underscores how committed former players are to understanding the long-term health outcomes of the sport,” said Terry.
According to senior author Aaron Baggish, MD, a cardiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center, “There may be other aspects of youth football participation that are linked to later life health. The key to protecting amateur and professional players is using large and varied cohorts to identify which risks are or are not worthy of attention.”
Playing sports in childhood boosts children’s cardiovascular conditioning, ability to work as a team, and self-esteem, so Terry wants to see future studies further clarify the risks of youth football in those who do not end up in the NFL since most boys do not go on to play at the professional or even collegiate level.
Terry, co-first author along with Rachel Grashow, PhD, MS, director of epidemiological research initiatives for the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, statistically accounted for a variety of factors that were not considered in previous studies, including primary football position (lineman or not), number of professional seasons, index of prior concussions signs or symptoms, as well as age, race and BMI.
Research Driven by Input from Former NFL Players
The Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, launched in 2014, is a comprehensive research program dedicated to examining the multifactorial causes that impact the health of former NFL players. The research has been informed by the players themselves, who have provided input on the health concerns and conditions they face after a career in football. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Harvard University and Harvard Medical School and its affiliated teaching hospitals, including those in the Mass General Brigham system, conduct research from neurology, cardiology, sports medicine, rehabilitation medicine, chronic pain and public health. While concussion and head injury are of paramount concern, the study examines all aspects of player health across the life span. Former players can find important resources to support their health in this section of the study’s website.
This work was supported by the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, which is funded by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University and its affiliated academic healthcare centers. The NFLPA had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
