Kathleen Kingsbury at TIME.com this morning revealed results of the NFL funded cardiovascular health screenings that was conducted by a panel of heart specialists in 2007. Data was collected from 504 veteran members of 12 NFL teams, which represents about 1/4 of all non-rookie players. According to the article, results of the screenings found that NFL players may be as healthy as men of the same age in the general population. However, as Kingsbury points out, there was no analysis of retired players which could identify the point when problems surface. Highlights of the study below.
The good news…
- Despite being nearly four inches taller and more than 60 pounds heavier on average than their nonplaying peers, NFL athletes had similar blood levels of cholesterol and triglyceride, and lower fasting-glucose levels (high fasting glucose is a common marker for diabetes).
- Black NFL players showed no higher risk of heart disease than white players, even though black men in the general population have a much higher rate than their white peers.
- Overall, NFL players were also much less likely than other men to smoke cigarettes, another risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.
The bad news…
- Compared with men in the general population, NFL players had higher rates of hypertension, a key risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
- Among the issues the new study does not further explore, however, is whether players are able to maintain their health after retirement.
- In addition to the 15-year-old NIOSH study, a 2008 report by the American Heart Association (AHA) concluded that compared with other men, retired players were more likely to have high cholesterol and impaired fasting glucose despite significantly lower rates of diabetes and hypertension.
