Retired football players aren’t at a greater risk for suicide compared with the general population, according to a new study released as the National Football League is being increasingly scrutinized over player health and head injuries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the study Tuesday that looked at the suicide death rate for retired NFL players. Recent research has shown that football players may be prone to getting a neurological condition that can cause depression and suicide after repeated blows to the head.
Player safety has become a major issue after some NFL players, notably former star linebacker Junior Seau, committed suicide.
However, the CDC’s research did not show NFL players at a higher risk of suicide.
Researchers looked at the suicide death rate for 3,439 former NFL players who played in the league for five seasons between 1959-88. They compared the players to the general suicide rate for men of the same race and age in the U.S. population.
From 1979-2013, the rate of suicide among the former NFL players was “less than half of what would be expected compared with the general U.S. population,” according to the CDC. “The NFL group experienced 12 suicide deaths compared with 25 that would be expected in a comparable gender/race/age sector of the U.S. population.”
CDC researchers said the issue of football players and higher suicide risk has become a popular topic.
“In studying this particular cohort of professional football players, our researchers did not find this to be the case. More studies are needed before further conclusions can be reached,” said Douglas Trout, deputy director of the Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies at the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.
The findings come as the NFL has gotten pummeled by some House lawmakers on the dangers of football.
The league’s top safety official admitted after being questioned at a recent hearing that there is a link between playing football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the neurological condition linked to repeated blows to the head.
The NFL has settled a lawsuit brought by retired players for nearly $1 billion to help those suffering from neurological conditions.
