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Do most college football players get brain damage? I've met a decent amount of former college football players and none had (obvious) signs of brain damage. I

Do most college football players get brain damage? I've met a decent amount of former college football players and none had (obvious) signs of brain damage. I don't think that most smokers die of lung cancer either.

duskwuff 8y ago
> Do most college football players get brain damage? FTA: "[...] the Boston University C.T.E. center, which found evidence of degenerative brain disease in 99 percent of brains obtained from deceased N.F.L. players and 91 percent of college football players and 21 percent of those who played high school football." 91% certainly qualifies as "most" in my book.
- gwern 8y ago
  Self-selection, though. That's consistent with <50% of players getting brain damage.
- scott_s 8y ago
  That study has a selection bias; the athletes' families all suspected that their player had CTE. So it's not accurate to say that 91% of college football players will get CTE. But, it's still an enormous indictment of the sport. Enough that when that study came out, I just lost all taste for watching football. (Which was not a stretch, I never followed much, but I did occasionally pay attention or watch with friends.) With those kinds of numbers, I think it's fair to say that if you play college football, your chances of developing CTE are very high. I think of it as similar to smoking cigarettes and lung cancer. I just think it's important to be clear on the parameters of that study, which means being careful when citing the numbers.
mlthoughts2018 8y ago
That’s a good point with probably a complex answer that needs a lot more research. From the article, > “the work of the Boston University C.T.E. center, which found evidence of degenerative brain disease in 99 percent of brains obtained from deceased N.F.L. players and 91 percent of college football players and 21 percent of those who played high school football.” Of course there’s a causality problem here as to whether people who died and thus could have their brains examined are simply more susceptible to the concussive effects, but you may also suggest that, unless we can diagnose those people ahead of time, it doesn’t matter because it represents some fraction of players taking a far more serious health risk without knowing it, especially for the 1/5 number among high school athletes. Further, the article mentions lots of other problems beyond explicit CTE issues, like migraines, nerve damage, shakes and memory lapses. It brings up all kinds of questions about child welfare, acceptable risk, exploitation of poor athletes, association with a college scholarship, and so on.

duskwuff 8y ago

> Do most college football players get brain damage? FTA: "[...] the Boston University C.T.E. center, which found evidence of degenerative brain disease in 99 percent of brains obtained from deceased N.F.L. players and 91 percent of college football players and 21 percent of those who played high school football." 91% certainly qualifies as "most" in my book.

gwern 8y ago
Self-selection, though. That's consistent with <50% of players getting brain damage.
scott_s 8y ago
That study has a selection bias; the athletes' families all suspected that their player had CTE. So it's not accurate to say that 91% of college football players will get CTE. But, it's still an enormous indictment of the sport. Enough that when that study came out, I just lost all taste for watching football. (Which was not a stretch, I never followed much, but I did occasionally pay attention or watch with friends.) With those kinds of numbers, I think it's fair to say that if you play college football, your chances of developing CTE are very high. I think of it as similar to smoking cigarettes and lung cancer. I just think it's important to be clear on the parameters of that study, which means being careful when citing the numbers.

mlthoughts2018 8y ago

That’s a good point with probably a complex answer that needs a lot more research. From the article, > “the work of the Boston University C.T.E. center, which found evidence of degenerative brain disease in 99 percent of brains obtained from deceased N.F.L. players and 91 percent of college football players and 21 percent of those who played high school football.” Of course there’s a causality problem here as to whether people who died and thus could have their brains examined are simply more susceptible to the concussive effects, but you may also suggest that, unless we can diagnose those people ahead of time, it doesn’t matter because it represents some fraction of players taking a far more serious health risk without knowing it, especially for the 1/5 number among high school athletes. Further, the article mentions lots of other problems beyond explicit CTE issues, like migraines, nerve damage, shakes and memory lapses. It brings up all kinds of questions about child welfare, acceptable risk, exploitation of poor athletes, association with a college scholarship, and so on.