Health characteristics and health behaviours in male former contact sports participants: comparison with general population controls in a Finnish cohort study

BACKGROUND: Athletes who have a history of participation in contact sports appear to subsequently experience elevated rates of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia but have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and selected cancers. We quantified the occurrence of little-examined cardiometabolic and mental health outcomes, plus associated lifestyle factors, in a group of former contact sports athletes and a general population sample. METHODS: In this cohort study, male former elite athletes active between 1920 and 1965 in soccer (N=303), boxing (N=281), and wrestling (N=318) were recruited using sports yearbooks and the administrative records of sports associations. A population control group was identified using data from a compulsory medical examination (N=1712). All study members were linked to hospital registers (1970-2015) and a self-completion questionnaire was circulated in 1985. RESULTS: Across 12 health outcomes, the general pattern of association was null. On the few occasions when statistically significant differences did occur, there were in fact more favourable health characteristics and behaviours in former athletes. For instance, in comparison to population controls, we found a lower prevalence of ever having smoked cigarettes in all contact sports groups (range in odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 0.32 (0.21, 0.48) to 0.52 (0.36, 0.75)). CONCLUSION: In this study, male retired contact sports athletes had similar cardiometabolic and mental health profiles to those of population controls.