Table 3.
Mental Health, Quality of Life, and Lifestyle Factors in Former Professional American-Style Football Players Reporting Daily Problems in Cognitive Functiona Compared with Those Who Do Not Report Daily Cognitive Problems
| Characteristic | Daily cognitive problems (n = 1502) | No daily cognitive problems (n = 2256) | OR [95% CI] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental healthb | |||
| Depression | |||
| Yes | 259 (18.0) | 73 (3.3) | 6.42 |
| No | 1183 (82.0) | 2140 (96.7) | [4.90–8.40] |
| Anxiety | |||
| Yes | 276 (19.1) | 94 (4.3) | 5.29 |
| No | 1171 (80.9) | 2109 (95.7) | [4.14–6.75] |
| Memory loss | |||
| Yes | 137 (9.5) | 12 (0.5) | 19.14 |
| No | 1300 (90.5) | 2179 (99.5) | [10.56–34.66] |
| ADD/ADHD | |||
| Yes | 118 (8.1) | 37 (1.7) | 5.16 |
| No | 1334 (91.9) | 2157 (98.3) | [3.54–7.51] |
| Quality of life | |||
| General quality of life | |||
| Poor/fair | 553 (37.5) | 147 (6.6) | 8.48 |
| Good to excellent | 923 (62.5) | 2080 (93.4) | [6.96–10.33] |
| Mental health | |||
| Poor/fair | 935 (62.7) | 246 (11.0) | 13.63 |
| Good to excellent | 557 (37.3) | 1997 (89.0) | [11.51–16.14] |
| Satisfaction with social activities and relationships | |||
| Poor/fair | 725 (48.6) | 244 (10.9) | 7.73 |
| Good to excellent | 767 (51.4) | 1995 (89.1) | [6.54–9.14] |
| Emotional problems | |||
| Often/always | 717 (47.9) | 163 (7.3) | 11.77 |
| Never to sometimes | 779 (52.1) | 2085 (92.7) | [9.75–14.22] |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Frequent drinkingc | |||
| Yes | 326 (22.0) | 447 (20.0) | 1.13 |
| No | 1154 (78.0) | 1787 (80.0) | [0.96–1.33] |
| Current smoking | |||
| Yes | 66 (4.4) | 52 (2.3) | 1.96 |
| No | 1419 (95.6) | 2189 (97.7) | [1.35–2.83] |
| Low level of exercised | |||
| Yes | 416 (27.7) | 310 (13.8) | 2.41 |
| No | 1084 (72.3) | 1943 (86.2) | [2.04–2.84] |
Data are presented as n (%).
Assessed with 11 questions from the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QOL) Item Bank v1.0 for Applied Cognition – General Concerns. Twenty-one out of 3779 participants provided valid responses for <8 out of 11 Neuro-QOL items and were not included in the analysis. Total values of <3758 for an outcome indicate missing responses. bBased on self-report of currently taking medication for the treatment of that disorder. cDefined as ≥15 alcoholic beverages (i.e., 12 oz. of beer, 5 oz. of wine, or one shot [2 cL] of alcohol, such as gin, rum, or vodka) per week based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's classification for heavy drinking.26
Defined as <1 h/week of walking, jogging, running, other aerobic (e.g., bicycling, stationary/elliptical machine/other), low-intensity exercise (e.g., yoga, Pilates, stretching), and/or weight training.
ADD, attention deficit disorder; ADHD, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder; CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.