CTE risk identified in another popular sport – and the danger grows with each year of participation

The largest study of former hockey players to date has found that the odds of developing the neurodegenerative disease CTE increased by 34 percent with each year they played the sport.

Researchers said Wednesday that 18 of the 19 National Hockey League players included in the research had chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

“Ice hockey players with longer careers not only were more likely to have CTE, but they also had more severe disease,” Dr. Jesse Mez, the co-director of clinical research at Massachusetts’ Boston University CTE Center, said in a statement. “We hope this data will help inspire changes to make the game safer as well as help former ice hockey players impacted by CTE get the care they need.”

Mez was the corresponding author of a related study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Of the college, juniors, and semi-professional players, 46 percent had CTE and just 10 percent of youth and high school players had it.

CTE is caused by repeated traumatic brain injuries and most frequently found in former contact sport athletes exposed to repetitive head impacts. It can only be diagnosed after death through a brain autopsy. The exact number of Americans who have had CTE remains unknown.

Research from earlier this year found one in three former NFL players believe they have CTE, and that those who do are more likely to be suicidal. Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez, who died by suicide in a Massachusetts prison in 2017, was diagnosed with CTE after his death. Brett Favre, of the Green Bay Packers, has said he believes he may have CTE, as well.

Hockey is the third major sport, after football and rugby, to exhibit a relationship between years of play and risk of CTE. The study included 77 deceased male hockey players who were brain donors.

Several NHL players have been posthumously diagnosed with CTE, including former Nashville Predators captain Greg Johnson and Montreal Canadiens center Henri Richard. The family of former New York Rangers winger Chris Simon blamed his death on CTE. Only Simon was an enforcer: a player with an unofficial role to fight and play aggressively.

“While many perceive CTE risk as limited to enforcers, this study makes it clear that all male ice hockey players are at risk,” the Boston University School of Medicine said.

Among enforcers, 18 of 22 had CTE. Although, the researchers said the difference between those in that role and others was not statistically significant after accounting for years of play.

“Enforcers have dominated the CTE conversation, but our findings provide the most evidence for the cumulative amount of play as the predominant risk factor for CTE,” says Mez.

“Enforcers had about twice the odds of developing CTE, but the takeaway here is that non-enforcers are getting CTE as well,” he continued. “Ice hockey players skate quickly, and checking leads to impacts with other players, the ice, boards and glass. We think years of play is a proxy for these impacts that are harder to measure directly, but are likely what are leading to the disease.”

The risk of CTE for female hockey players remains unknown and the rules around body checking are different.

Previous research from New York’s Columbia University had also linked hockey to CTE, finding that enforcers died a decade earlier on average and were more likely to die by suicide and drug overdoses: common occurrences in people with CTE.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.