Julius Thomas, M.S. recently received an academic publication for his contributions on an article for The Football Players Health Study at Harvard University titled Career Duration and Later Life Health Conditions Among Former Professional American-Style Football Players.
The article investigates the relationship between career length and post-career health outcomes in former professional American-style football (ASF) players. It uses data from the Football Players Health Study at Harvard, which surveyed 4,189 former players. The study focuses on four health conditions: pain, arthritis, mood, and cognitive symptoms, as well as play-related exposures like concussions, use of performance-enhancing drugs, surgeries, and average snaps per game.
Key findings include:
1. Tough to Be in the Middle: Adverse health outcomes were more common among players with mid-range career durations (8-11 years) compared to those with shorter or longer careers, indicating an inverted U-shaped relationship. Players with the shortest and longest careers reported fewer adverse health outcomes.
2. Football Exposure Influences Long-Term Health: Similar non-linear trends were observed for exposures like concussion symptoms, use of performance-enhancing drugs, and the number of surgeries, with those in mid-range careers experiencing higher exposure.
3. Selection Bias: The study suggests that players with longer careers may be less susceptible to certain health risks due to selection effects, where healthier players or those less affected by injuries or exposures tend to have longer careers.
4. Career Length as a Proxy: The authors caution against using career length as a simple proxy for neurotrauma or exposure in future research, due to its non-linear relationship with both health outcomes and football exposures. Additional thoughts from Julius below:
The study highlights the need for more sophisticated methods to evaluate the long-term health risks of ASF players and signifies a need to take a closer look when using career duration as an indicator of exposure in sports health research.
It is important to keep playing position in mind when evaluating former player health data, as length of career may not lead to more exposure than positional role dynamics. This is important for medical professionals who work with and treat former NFL players, as well as researchers evaluating health data in this population.
Upcoming Appearances
- Julius will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Zebra Technologies “Chalk Talk” Podcast.
- Julius will be speaking at Compass Real Estate’s Charleston RETREAT on Wednesday, November 13th.