Michigan researchers report that Alzheimer's disease or dementia appear to be present in the league's former players more often than in the national population -- including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49.
An N.F.L. spokesman, Greg Aiello, said the study did not formally diagnose dementia, that it was subject to shortcomings of telephone surveys, and that “there are thousands of retired players who do not have memory problems.”
I doubt that the five million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's and their families will take comfort in knowing that the vast majority of Americans do not suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia.
The Michigan researchers found that 6.1 percent of players age 50 and older reported that they had received a dementia-related diagnosis -- this is five times higher than the national average.
I doubt that Aiello's comments will give comfort to NFL Players.
If the numbers prove to be correct over the entire population of NFL players, about one out of every six retired NFL players (6.1%) could be expected to suffer from dementia. This versus the national average of 1.2 percent.
To read Dementia Risk Seen in Players in N.F.L. Study ...go here.
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Bob DeMarco is the Founder of the Alzheimer's Reading Room (ARR).To learn more about Alzheimer's and dementia visit the Alzheimer's Reading Room