May 31, 2007 — See The New York Times, Ivanhoe Newswire
The rate of diagnosed clinical depression among retired National Football League players is strongly correlated with the number of concussions they sustained, according to a study published May 31. The study was conducted by UNC's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes in the department of exercise and sport science and based on a general health survey of 2,552 retired N.F.L. players. As the most comprehensive study of football players to date, the paper will add to the escalating debate over the effects of and proper approach to football-related concussions. The study, which will appear in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, found that of the 595 players who recalled sustaining three or more concussions on the football field, 20.2 percent said they had been found to have depression. That is three times the rate of players who have not sustained concussions. "In many cases, the data we have in front of us leads us to believe that recurrent concussions played a significant role in neurological decline," said Kevin Guskiewicz, the center's research director and principal author of the study. (Stories on the study were also covered by the Associated Press, LiveScience, Ivanhoe Newswire, The Daily Telegraph in Australia and newspapers around the country. Ivanhoe has a syndicated television series, and its reports are broadcast in 250 markets reaching 80 million U.S. households.)
