According to new research data, up to 97.7% of NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 may have suffered from a brain disease associated with repeated head impacts.
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Researchers analyzed 878 former NFL players who died during the study period. 235 of them donated their brains for scientific research.
Of these 235 cases, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was diagnosed in 215 – a degenerative brain disease that can only be diagnosed post-mortem.
The study published in the British Medical Journal also found that dementia was common among former players who donated their brains for research.
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“We and other researchers have shown that the mortality rate from neurodegenerative diseases among NFL players is about four times higher than in the general population,” said the lead author of the study, Harvard Medical School associate professor Daniel Daneshvar.
According to the researchers’ calculations, the “conservative minimum” prevalence of CTE among former players who died over the six-year period was 24.5%, while the “maximum” estimate was 97.7%.
Scientists urged the NFL to take preventive measures and reduce the number of repeated head impacts at all levels of American football.
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