NFL Study Links Concussions, Depression

Graphic shows results on study that compares concussions and clinical depression in retired NFL players (Carrie Osgood - AP)

An earlier study at UNC found retired athletes' chronic pain also may contribute to depression. Guskiewicz said his study analyzed its potential effect and those of numerous other potential causes and factors, including arthritis, stroke, cancer, age and mild cognitive impairment _ a middle area between the changes of normal aging and more serious mental problems.

"We controlled for all these factors, and, after doing that, we still found this link between concussion history and a diagnosis of depression at some point in life," Guskiewicz said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that more than 300,000 athletes lose consciousness from concussions every year in the United States, and the total number of such concussions could be as high as 3.8 million.

Guskiewicz's study involved only those concussions suffered in the NFL. But players also reported concussions during high school and college.

"We have many retired players in our database who had three to four concussions in just their short five-, six-year career, who also two to three in college, who had one to two in high school," he said. "Add these together and it's a cumulative affect over a playing career."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: "We think it's interesting. But it does not prove anything. And we want to know more. And that's why we are spending close to $2 million on a study of concussions on our retired players."

Guskiewicz coaches youth football and has sons aged 7, 9 and 10 who all play. He said worries that young players will accept the notion that concussions don't matter.

"Kids look up to the NFL players," he said. "They see players who sustain concussions. And it's just concerning."

The league is considering a whistle-blower program to keep team officials from pushing players to play too soon after concussions, and commissioner Roger Goodell has ordered all 32 teams to send their doctors and trainers to a meeting about concussions next month. Gutierrez will be speaking to that meeting, Aiello said.

Concussions among NFL players have made news in recent months. A forensic pathologist who studied Andre Waters' brain after he killed himself in November said it had been damaged by concussions.

In addition, The Boston Globe and The New York Times reported in February that Ted Johnson, a New England Patriots linebacker for 10 years, shows early signs of Alzheimer's disease.

The 34-year-old Johnson said his mental problems began in 2002, when he had two concussions in four days: the first during an exhibition game and the second after coach Bill Belichick pushed him to join full-contact practice.

___

Associated Press Writer Martha Waggoner contributed to this story.