Mortality from mental disorders and suicide in male professional American football and soccer players: A meta-analysis

Objective To determine the risk of mortality from mental disorders and suicide in professional sports associated with repeated head impacts. Methods A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus (since inception to June 8, 2021) to find studies comparing the in...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Salvador Morales, Javier, Castillo García, Adrián, Valenzuela Tallón, Pedro Luis, Saco-Ledo, Gonzalo, Mañas Bote, Asier, Santos-Lozano, Alejandro, Lucia, Alejandro
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Repositorio:RUIdeRA. Repositorio Institucional de la UCLM
OAI Identifier:oai:ruidera.uclm.es:10578/29096
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10578/29096
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:chronic traumatic encephalopathy
concussion
professional athletes
traumatic brain injury
Descripción
Sumario:Objective To determine the risk of mortality from mental disorders and suicide in professional sports associated with repeated head impacts. Methods A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus (since inception to June 8, 2021) to find studies comparing the incidence of mortality from mental disorders or suicide in former or active professional athletes of sports characterized by repeated head impacts vs athletes with no such exposure or the general non-athletic population. Results Seven retrospective studies of moderate-to-high quality that included data from boxers and from basketball, ice hockey, soccer, and National Football League (NFL) players, respectively (total = 27 477 athletes, 100% male) met all inclusion criteria. Former male NFL players (n = 13 217) had a lower risk of mortality from mental disorders (standard mortality rate [SMR] = 0.30; 0.12–0.77; p = 0.012) and suicide (SMR = 0.54; 0.37–0.78; p < 0.001) than the general population. This finding was also corroborated in male soccer players (n = 13,065; SMR = 0.55; 0.46–0.67; p < 0.001). Male athletes participating in sports associated with repeated head impacts (n = 18,606) had also a lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality (all p < 0.01) than the general population. Conclusions Participation of male athletes in American football or soccer at the professional level might confer a certain protective effect against mortality from mental disorders or suicide, besides its association with a lower risk of all-cause, CVD, or cancer-related mortality.