The Prevalence of Depression and Concussions in Semi-professional and Professional North American Football Players

Abstract

Concussive events frequently occur in high impact sports such as North American football. The long term effects of concussive events on physical and psychological well being are the focus of ongoing research. PURPOSE: To determine if multiple concussive events increase the incidence and severity of depression in semi-professional and professional North American football players. METHODS: An anonymous online survey was sent to 200 players to collect the following self-reported data: position played, years played, number of concussions sustained and subsequent depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD-R) scale. An independent T-test was used to determine differences in the number of concussive events in those with CESD-R scores < 16 vs. ≥ 16, where scores ≥ 16 are indicative of a depressed state. Likewise, an independent T-test as was used to compare CESD-R scores between players with ≥3 concussions vs. ≤2. RESULTS: Twenty-seven respondents reported previous concussive events and answered all survey and CESD-R questions. Individuals with a CESD-R score ≥16 (n= 16), sustained a significantly greater number of concussions (3.8 vs. 1.6) than those who scored <16 (n = 11) (p= 0.0004). Further analysis also revealed significantly higher CESD-R scores in players who had sustained ≥ 3 (n = 11) concussions (24.0 vs. 15.6) than those with ≤ 2 (n = 16) (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Within the parameters of this study, players that were classified as “depressed” using the CESD-R scoring criteria had sustained significantly more concussions compared to those who were not classified. Further, multiple concussive events (≥ 3) appears to increase symptoms of depression.