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Table 1 Sample characteristics

From: Inflammatory biomarkers for neurobehavioral dysregulation in former American football players: findings from the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project

 

Former football players, NBD + (n = 104)

Former football players, NBD− (n = 76)

Unexposed individuals, NBD− (n = 55)

Demographics

  

Age, mean (SD) years

58.2 (7.7)

58.2 (8.7)

59.8 (8.3)

Age < 60 years, n (%)

68 (65.4)

41 (53.9)

26 (47.3)

Age ≥ 60 years, n (%)

36 (34.6)

35 (46.1)

29 (51.8)

Education, mean (SD) years**

16.5 (1.0)

17.1 (1.9)

17.5 (3.5)

Race (self-identified), n (%)

  

  Black or African-American

39 (37.5)

24 (31.6)

19 (34.5)

  White

63 (60.6)

51 (67.1)

35 (63.6)

  Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

0 (0.0)

1 (1.3)

1 (1.8)

  Multiple races

2 (1.9)

0 (0.0)

0 (0.0)

Ethnicity, n (%)

  

  Hispanic or Latino

2 (1.9)

1 (1.3)

0 (0.0)

Football

  

College, n (%)

36 (34.6)

24 (31.6)

–

Professional, n (%)

68 (65.4)

52 (68.4)

–

Total years of football play, mean (SD) years

16.3 (4.5)

15.2 (4.1)

–

Cumulative head impact index (CHII) –

linear acceleration, a mean (SD) g

174,782 (54,303)

167,482 (50,717)

–

Alcohol use

  

Alcohol use Disorders identification test score, b mean (SD)*

5.5 (6.5)

4.5 (4.3)

2.9 (3.2)

Cardiovascular risk

  

Body mass index, mean (SD)*

33.0 (4.6)

32.0 (4.7)

30.9 (4.7)

Revised Framingham Stroke Risk Profile, c mean (SD)**

0.03 (0.03)

0.03 (0.04)

0.05 (0.04)

Sleep apnea

  

Self-reported history of sleep apnea, n (%)*

40 (38.5)

22 (28.9)

10 (18.2)

APOE genotype

  

ε4 allele, n (%) present*

38 (36.5)

15 (19.7)

10 (18.2)

Medication

  

Antidepressants use, n (%)***

30 (28.8)

6 (7.9)

2 (3.6)

Neurobehavioral dysregulation (raw factor scores)d

  

Explosivity***

0.49 (0.16)

0.33 (0.07)

0.29 (0.04)

Emotional dyscontrol***

0.68 (0.19)

0.43 (0.11)

0.36 (0.05)

Affective lability***

0.42 (0.20)

0.28 (0.12)

0.25 (0.10)

Impulsivity***

0.56 (0.15)

0.41 (0.08)

0.37 (0.07)

NBD total score***

53.6 (13.4)

36.1 (6.8)

31.8 (4.4)

  1. Characteristics of three study groups: (1) former American football players, with NBD diagnosis (NBD +), (2) former American football players without NBD diagnosis (NBD−), (3) healthy individuals without exposure to TBI or RHI, without NBD diagnosis. aCHII linear acceleration is an estimate of the total linear acceleration (measured in g-force) that a football player has been exposed to during his career (range 47,298–337,689). bThe Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test is a 10-item screening tool, scores from 8–14 indicate harmful consumption, > 15 suggests the likelihood of alcohol dependency. cThe Revised Framingham Stroke Risk Profile served as a vascular composite risk score, including measures for systolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medication, cardiovascular disease, current smoking status, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes. dRange values for NBD factor scores: explosivity (0.27–0.90), emotional dyscontrol (0.33–1.0), affective lability (0.2–1.0), impulsivity (0.29–0.96), NBD total score (27.2–87.2). *uncorr-p < 0.05, **uncorr-p < 0.01, ***uncorr-p < 0.001; p-values from group-level ANOVAs or Chi-square tests.
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Journal of Neuroinflammation

ISSN: 1742-2094