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Concussion increases risk for cognitive, psychiatric impairments in hockey players

Recent findings indicated small objective associations between exposure to concussion and cognitive impairment in retired professional hockey players.

“The majority of recent published research on retired professional athletes concerns football players with earlier literature focusing on boxing. In order to determine the generalization of findings in professional athletes, there is a need to extend this research to other contact sports,” Carrie Esopenko, PhD, of Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, and colleagues wrote.

To assess associations between cognitive and psychosocial functioning and concussion exposure in retired professional ice hockey players, researchers evaluated alumni athletes (n = 33) and an age-matched sample of comparison participants (n = 18). Study participants completed cognitive function measures and questionnaires about psychosocial and psychiatric functioning.

Participants did not significantly differ on neuropsychological measures of speeded attention, verbal memory or visuospatial functions.

Groups did not differ on computerized measures of response speed, inhibitory control and visuospatial problem solving.

Researchers found group differences in cognitive performance on executive and intellectual tests, and performance on these tests was associated with concussion exposure.

Cognitive, affective and behavioral impairment on psychosocial questionnaires and psychiatric diagnoses differed between groups.

Researchers found no evidence of differential effects associated with age in alumni athletes.

Apolipoprotein 4 allele was associated with increased reported psychiatric symptoms but not with objective cognitive performance.

“Although these data alone cannot speak to causation, detailed brain imaging studies in this sample will provide further information regarding the neural correlates of the observed changes. Moreover, longitudinal assessment of this sample will enable us to detect changes in function over time, if any occur. Collection of detailed behavioral and brain data across different groups of professional athletes is necessary to determine the frequency and course of cognitive and behavioral changes that may be associated with pathological ageing during life to complement the postmortem studies of dementia in athletes that have been widely reported,” the researchers concluded. – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: Esopenko reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for a full list of relevant financial disclosures.