Risk of cardiovascular disease and death in retired professional American football
players may be higher than that in the general population. Previously published data
have demonstrated that American football players have less glucose intolerance, less
smoking, similar lipid profiles, and higher blood pressure despite a much larger body
compared to the general population, although the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis
in these subjects has not been evaluated. This study compared the prevalence of subclinical
atherosclerosis in active professional American football players to that in age-,
gender-, and race-matched controls derived from the Bogalusa Heart Study. Carotid
intimal–medial thickness (CIMT) was used as an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis
in 75 active American football players (23 to 35 years old, 31 white, 44 African-American)
as measured by B-mode ultrasonography at Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, on September
13 and 14, 2009. CIMT measurements of 75 athletes were compared to those of 518 matched
controls who had CIMT determinations in 1995 and 1996. Two-group t tests determined population similarities between groups. In a generalized linear
model, players (overall and by race) had lower CIMT values than controls after age
and race adjustment (p <0.001 for all comparisons). Nonlinemen and linemen had lower
CIMT values than controls (p <0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). In conclusion, active
professional American football players, regardless of position, had mean CIMT values
similar to or lower than those in a matched general population cohort, suggesting
that if the prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis is increased in retired professional
American football players, this occurs after retirement.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: December 26, 2011
Accepted:
October 27,
2011
Received in revised form:
October 27,
2011
Received:
August 26,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
