Depression Among Retired NFL Players

As the sports world prepares for this weekend’s National Football League draft and the excitement of promising young players entering the league, a new study from the University of Michigan Health System highlights the issues faced at the other end of the career spectrum, after players retire.

The study for the first time quantifies the pain and depression experienced by retired NFL players, and assesses other health issues that are impacted by pain and depression.

“We found that retired professional football players experience levels of depressive symptoms similar to those of the general population, but the impact of these symptoms is compounded by high levels of chronic pain,” says lead author Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., the George A. Dean, M.D. Chair and Professor of Family Medicine at the U-M Health System and associate director of the U-M Depression Center.

The study appears in the current issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

To obtain the data, researchers sent surveys to 3,377 members of the NFL Players Association, Retired Players Section. Of the 1,594 people who responded, the prevalence of moderate to severe depression was nearly 15 percent, very similar to the prevalence in the general public. But the frequency with which the retired players reported problems with pain – nearly half the people in the study – puts them at significant additional risk for depression and associated difficulties, Schwenk says.

More than half had high scores in pain, depression or both. About 11 percent had high scores in both areas, 37 percent had high pain scores and low depression scores, and 4 percent had low depression scores and high pain scores. The remaining 48 percent had low scores in both categories.

In addition to the strong link between depression and pain, the relationship between these conditions and other issues also was notable, says co-author Eric Hipple, a retired Detroit Lions quarterback who now is outreach coordinator for the U-M Depression Center.

For example, those responding to the survey whose scores indicated moderate to severe depression were 11 times more likely to report trouble sleeping than those rated as not depressed or mildly depressed.

Similarly, those in the moderate-to-severe depression category were nearly eight times more likely to report a loss of fitness and lack of exercise, and seven times more likely to report financial difficulties. Retired players who scored high in the pain categories also tended to have more problems in these areas. And respondents who rated as moderately to severely depressed were much more likely to have problems with a lack of social support or friendships, the use of prescribed medication, alcohol or other drugs, and trouble with the transition to life after football.

Participants in the survey also reported barriers to seeking help for their problems, including a preference to deal with their issues using spiritual means or through family and friends, lack of insurance coverage, and a lack of recognition that these problems were important. Many said they would feel weak or embarrassed if they sought help.