| . | Total sample (N = 205) . | <11 Years of football play (N = 77) . | ≥11 Years of football play (N = 128) . | P-value . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTE Stage, n (%) | <0.01 | |||
| Stage 0 (no CTE) | 54 (26.3) | 33 (42.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage I/II (low) | 39 (9.3) | 20 (26.0) | 19 (14.8) | |
| Stage III/IV (high) | 112 (54.6) | 24 (31.2) | 88 (68.8) | |
| Lewy body disease | 0.87 | |||
| Brainstem predominant | 22 (10.7) | 8 (10.4) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Limbic (transitional)/neocortical | 22 (10.7) | 9 (11.7) | 13 (10.2) | |
| Frontotemporal lobar degeneration | 18 (8.8) | 5 (6.5) | 13 (10.2) | 0.45 |
| Motor neuron disease | 3 (1.5) | 0 | 3 (2.4) | − |
| Alzheimer’s disease | 49 (23.9) | 25 (32.5) | 24 (18.8) | 0.03 |
| CERAD neuritic plaque score | 0.03 | |||
| No neuritic plaques | 113 (55.1) | 42 (54.5) | 71 (55.5) | |
| Sparse neuritic plaques | 52 (25.4) | 13 (16.9) | 39 (30.5) | |
| Moderate neuritic plaques | 31 (15.1) | 17 (22.1) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Frequent neuritic plaques | 9 (4.4) | 5 (6.5) | 4 (3.1) | |
| Braak stage | 0.02 | |||
| Stage 0 | 42 (20.5) | 22 (28.6) | 20 (15.6) | |
| Stage I/II | 34 (16.6) | 13 (16.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage III/IV | 75 (36.6) | 19 (24.7) | 56 (43.8) | |
| Stage V/VI | 52 (25.4) | 23 (29.9) | 29 (22.7) | |
| Modified ischaemic injury score, mean (SD) | 5.35 (3.02) | 4.77 (2.75) | 5.69 (3.13) | 0.04 |
| Cerebral amyloid angiopathy, n (%) moderate-severe | 54 (26.3) | 24 (31.2) | 30 (23.4) | 0.22 |
| Arteriosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 125 (61.0) | 46 (59.7) | 79 (61.7) | 0.78 |
| Atherosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 46 (22.9) | 10 (13.3) | 36 (28.6) | 0.01 |
| Remote microinfarcts, n (%) present | 48 (23.4) | 13 (16.9) | 35 (27.3) | 0.09 |
| Remote infarcts, n (%) present | 32 (15.7) | 8 (10.4) | 24 (18.9) | 0.12 |
| White matter rarefaction, n (%) moderate-severe | 102 (50.0) | 29 (38.2) | 73 (57.0) | 0.01 |
| MAG frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 527.32 (134.58) | 553.74 (139.40) | 511.42 (129.56) | 0.03 |
| PLP frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 168.72 (74.19) | 181.31 (77.73) | 161.15 (71.22) | 0.06 |
| . | Total sample (N = 205) . | <11 Years of football play (N = 77) . | ≥11 Years of football play (N = 128) . | P-value . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTE Stage, n (%) | <0.01 | |||
| Stage 0 (no CTE) | 54 (26.3) | 33 (42.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage I/II (low) | 39 (9.3) | 20 (26.0) | 19 (14.8) | |
| Stage III/IV (high) | 112 (54.6) | 24 (31.2) | 88 (68.8) | |
| Lewy body disease | 0.87 | |||
| Brainstem predominant | 22 (10.7) | 8 (10.4) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Limbic (transitional)/neocortical | 22 (10.7) | 9 (11.7) | 13 (10.2) | |
| Frontotemporal lobar degeneration | 18 (8.8) | 5 (6.5) | 13 (10.2) | 0.45 |
| Motor neuron disease | 3 (1.5) | 0 | 3 (2.4) | − |
| Alzheimer’s disease | 49 (23.9) | 25 (32.5) | 24 (18.8) | 0.03 |
| CERAD neuritic plaque score | 0.03 | |||
| No neuritic plaques | 113 (55.1) | 42 (54.5) | 71 (55.5) | |
| Sparse neuritic plaques | 52 (25.4) | 13 (16.9) | 39 (30.5) | |
| Moderate neuritic plaques | 31 (15.1) | 17 (22.1) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Frequent neuritic plaques | 9 (4.4) | 5 (6.5) | 4 (3.1) | |
| Braak stage | 0.02 | |||
| Stage 0 | 42 (20.5) | 22 (28.6) | 20 (15.6) | |
| Stage I/II | 34 (16.6) | 13 (16.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage III/IV | 75 (36.6) | 19 (24.7) | 56 (43.8) | |
| Stage V/VI | 52 (25.4) | 23 (29.9) | 29 (22.7) | |
| Modified ischaemic injury score, mean (SD) | 5.35 (3.02) | 4.77 (2.75) | 5.69 (3.13) | 0.04 |
| Cerebral amyloid angiopathy, n (%) moderate-severe | 54 (26.3) | 24 (31.2) | 30 (23.4) | 0.22 |
| Arteriosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 125 (61.0) | 46 (59.7) | 79 (61.7) | 0.78 |
| Atherosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 46 (22.9) | 10 (13.3) | 36 (28.6) | 0.01 |
| Remote microinfarcts, n (%) present | 48 (23.4) | 13 (16.9) | 35 (27.3) | 0.09 |
| Remote infarcts, n (%) present | 32 (15.7) | 8 (10.4) | 24 (18.9) | 0.12 |
| White matter rarefaction, n (%) moderate-severe | 102 (50.0) | 29 (38.2) | 73 (57.0) | 0.01 |
| MAG frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 527.32 (134.58) | 553.74 (139.40) | 511.42 (129.56) | 0.03 |
| PLP frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 168.72 (74.19) | 181.31 (77.73) | 161.15 (71.22) | 0.06 |
Chi-square or Fisher’s Exact Test (for binary outcomes) and independent samples t-test (for continuous outcomes) compared those who played <11 years of football to those who played 11 or more years. Analyses that compare MAG and PLP are unadjusted in this table. As reported in the Results, there are statistically significant differences between the exposure groups for both MAG and PLP after adjusting for age at death, level of education, arteriolosclerosis and CTE stage. The modified ischaemic injury scale is a summary composite of semi-quantitative ratings of severity of hippocampal sclerosis, infarcts/lacune (absent/present), microinfarcts (absent/present), microbleeds (absent/present), laminar necrosis, arteriolosclerosis, atherosclerosis, cerebral amyloid angiopathy and white matter rarefaction (possible range: 0–17). Of the 205 brain donors, sample sizes were reduced for the following due to missing data: Braak stage, n = 203; modified ischaemic injury scale, n = 187; atherosclerosis, n = 201; white matter rarefaction, n = 204.
CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy; CERAD, Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease.
| . | Total sample (N = 205) . | <11 Years of football play (N = 77) . | ≥11 Years of football play (N = 128) . | P-value . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTE Stage, n (%) | <0.01 | |||
| Stage 0 (no CTE) | 54 (26.3) | 33 (42.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage I/II (low) | 39 (9.3) | 20 (26.0) | 19 (14.8) | |
| Stage III/IV (high) | 112 (54.6) | 24 (31.2) | 88 (68.8) | |
| Lewy body disease | 0.87 | |||
| Brainstem predominant | 22 (10.7) | 8 (10.4) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Limbic (transitional)/neocortical | 22 (10.7) | 9 (11.7) | 13 (10.2) | |
| Frontotemporal lobar degeneration | 18 (8.8) | 5 (6.5) | 13 (10.2) | 0.45 |
| Motor neuron disease | 3 (1.5) | 0 | 3 (2.4) | − |
| Alzheimer’s disease | 49 (23.9) | 25 (32.5) | 24 (18.8) | 0.03 |
| CERAD neuritic plaque score | 0.03 | |||
| No neuritic plaques | 113 (55.1) | 42 (54.5) | 71 (55.5) | |
| Sparse neuritic plaques | 52 (25.4) | 13 (16.9) | 39 (30.5) | |
| Moderate neuritic plaques | 31 (15.1) | 17 (22.1) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Frequent neuritic plaques | 9 (4.4) | 5 (6.5) | 4 (3.1) | |
| Braak stage | 0.02 | |||
| Stage 0 | 42 (20.5) | 22 (28.6) | 20 (15.6) | |
| Stage I/II | 34 (16.6) | 13 (16.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage III/IV | 75 (36.6) | 19 (24.7) | 56 (43.8) | |
| Stage V/VI | 52 (25.4) | 23 (29.9) | 29 (22.7) | |
| Modified ischaemic injury score, mean (SD) | 5.35 (3.02) | 4.77 (2.75) | 5.69 (3.13) | 0.04 |
| Cerebral amyloid angiopathy, n (%) moderate-severe | 54 (26.3) | 24 (31.2) | 30 (23.4) | 0.22 |
| Arteriosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 125 (61.0) | 46 (59.7) | 79 (61.7) | 0.78 |
| Atherosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 46 (22.9) | 10 (13.3) | 36 (28.6) | 0.01 |
| Remote microinfarcts, n (%) present | 48 (23.4) | 13 (16.9) | 35 (27.3) | 0.09 |
| Remote infarcts, n (%) present | 32 (15.7) | 8 (10.4) | 24 (18.9) | 0.12 |
| White matter rarefaction, n (%) moderate-severe | 102 (50.0) | 29 (38.2) | 73 (57.0) | 0.01 |
| MAG frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 527.32 (134.58) | 553.74 (139.40) | 511.42 (129.56) | 0.03 |
| PLP frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 168.72 (74.19) | 181.31 (77.73) | 161.15 (71.22) | 0.06 |
| . | Total sample (N = 205) . | <11 Years of football play (N = 77) . | ≥11 Years of football play (N = 128) . | P-value . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTE Stage, n (%) | <0.01 | |||
| Stage 0 (no CTE) | 54 (26.3) | 33 (42.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage I/II (low) | 39 (9.3) | 20 (26.0) | 19 (14.8) | |
| Stage III/IV (high) | 112 (54.6) | 24 (31.2) | 88 (68.8) | |
| Lewy body disease | 0.87 | |||
| Brainstem predominant | 22 (10.7) | 8 (10.4) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Limbic (transitional)/neocortical | 22 (10.7) | 9 (11.7) | 13 (10.2) | |
| Frontotemporal lobar degeneration | 18 (8.8) | 5 (6.5) | 13 (10.2) | 0.45 |
| Motor neuron disease | 3 (1.5) | 0 | 3 (2.4) | − |
| Alzheimer’s disease | 49 (23.9) | 25 (32.5) | 24 (18.8) | 0.03 |
| CERAD neuritic plaque score | 0.03 | |||
| No neuritic plaques | 113 (55.1) | 42 (54.5) | 71 (55.5) | |
| Sparse neuritic plaques | 52 (25.4) | 13 (16.9) | 39 (30.5) | |
| Moderate neuritic plaques | 31 (15.1) | 17 (22.1) | 14 (10.9) | |
| Frequent neuritic plaques | 9 (4.4) | 5 (6.5) | 4 (3.1) | |
| Braak stage | 0.02 | |||
| Stage 0 | 42 (20.5) | 22 (28.6) | 20 (15.6) | |
| Stage I/II | 34 (16.6) | 13 (16.9) | 21 (16.4) | |
| Stage III/IV | 75 (36.6) | 19 (24.7) | 56 (43.8) | |
| Stage V/VI | 52 (25.4) | 23 (29.9) | 29 (22.7) | |
| Modified ischaemic injury score, mean (SD) | 5.35 (3.02) | 4.77 (2.75) | 5.69 (3.13) | 0.04 |
| Cerebral amyloid angiopathy, n (%) moderate-severe | 54 (26.3) | 24 (31.2) | 30 (23.4) | 0.22 |
| Arteriosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 125 (61.0) | 46 (59.7) | 79 (61.7) | 0.78 |
| Atherosclerosis, n (%) moderate-severe | 46 (22.9) | 10 (13.3) | 36 (28.6) | 0.01 |
| Remote microinfarcts, n (%) present | 48 (23.4) | 13 (16.9) | 35 (27.3) | 0.09 |
| Remote infarcts, n (%) present | 32 (15.7) | 8 (10.4) | 24 (18.9) | 0.12 |
| White matter rarefaction, n (%) moderate-severe | 102 (50.0) | 29 (38.2) | 73 (57.0) | 0.01 |
| MAG frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 527.32 (134.58) | 553.74 (139.40) | 511.42 (129.56) | 0.03 |
| PLP frontal, mean (SD) pg/ml | 168.72 (74.19) | 181.31 (77.73) | 161.15 (71.22) | 0.06 |
Chi-square or Fisher’s Exact Test (for binary outcomes) and independent samples t-test (for continuous outcomes) compared those who played <11 years of football to those who played 11 or more years. Analyses that compare MAG and PLP are unadjusted in this table. As reported in the Results, there are statistically significant differences between the exposure groups for both MAG and PLP after adjusting for age at death, level of education, arteriolosclerosis and CTE stage. The modified ischaemic injury scale is a summary composite of semi-quantitative ratings of severity of hippocampal sclerosis, infarcts/lacune (absent/present), microinfarcts (absent/present), microbleeds (absent/present), laminar necrosis, arteriolosclerosis, atherosclerosis, cerebral amyloid angiopathy and white matter rarefaction (possible range: 0–17). Of the 205 brain donors, sample sizes were reduced for the following due to missing data: Braak stage, n = 203; modified ischaemic injury scale, n = 187; atherosclerosis, n = 201; white matter rarefaction, n = 204.
CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy; CERAD, Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease.
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