Table 1 Demographics and descriptive data
Characteristic | Former professional football players (PRO) (n = 119) | Former college football players (COL) (n = 60) | Unexposed (UE) (n = 58) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Age, mean (SD), years | 59.0 (7.8) | 53.5 (7.7) | 59.5 (8.3) |  < 0.001a |
Age by decade, n (%) within exposure group | ||||
 45–54 | 42 (35.3) | 44 (73.3) | 22 (37.9) |  < 0.01 |
 55–64 | 46 (38.7) | 9 (15.0) | 14 (24.1) | |
 65–74 | 31 (26.1) | 7 (11.7) | 22 (37.9) | |
Body Mass Index, mean (SD) kg/m2 | 32.0 (4.5) | 33.8 (4.8) | 30.7 (4.4) | 0.001b |
Education, mean (SD), years | 16.6 (1.1) | 17.1 (1.9) | 17.3 (3.5) | 0.07 |
Racial Identity, No. (%) | ||||
 American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.003 |
 Black or African-American | 52 (43.7%) | 11 (18.3%) | 24 (41.5%) | |
 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (1.7%) | |
 White | 65 (54.6%) | 48 (80.0%) | 33 (56.9) | |
 Multiracial | 2 (1.7%) | 1 (1.7%) | 0 (0.0%) | |
Ethnicity, No. (%) | ||||
 Hispanic or Latino | 3 (2.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.433 |
 Not Hispanic or Latino | 116 (97.5%) | 60 (100.0%) | 58 (100%) | |
Total years of football, mean (SD), years | 18.0 (3.4) | 11.5 (2.5) | NA |  < 0.001 |
Years of NFL participation, mean (SD), years | 7.4 (2.7) | NA | NA | NA |
Age of first exposure to football, mean (SD), years | 11.6 (2.8) | 10.2 (2.6) | NA | 0.002 |
Yrs between end of football play and baseline, mean (SD), years | 28.8 (8.5) | 31.5 (8.1) | NA | 0.043 |
MoCA total, mean (SD) T score | 39.3 (13.3) | 42.0 (12.5) | 49.0 (9.9) |  < 0.001c |
Cognitive Complaint Index, mean (SD) raw score | 32.8 (13.0) | 31.4 (12.8) | 13.7 (2.2) |  < 0.001d |
Cognitive Complaint Index above cut (> 16), No. (%) | 100 (84.0%) | 52 (86.7%) | 7 (12.1%) |  < 0.001 |
NAB List Learning Test Delayed Recall, mean (SD) T score | 36.1 (11.7) | 41.38 (13.7) | 45.6 (12.5) |  < 0.001e |
NAB List Learning Delayed Recall T score impaired (≤ 35), No. (%) | 63 (53.9%) | 21 (35.0%) | 13 (22.4%) |  < 0.001 |
Functional Activities Questionnaire -Informant, mean (SD) total score | 3.9 (5.7) | 2.97 (5.0) | 0.18 (0.5) |  < 0.001d |
ApoE ε4 genotype carriers, No. (%)f | 33 (28.6%) | 20 (33.9%) | 11 (20.4%) | 0.27 |
Florbetapir average SUVR ≥ 1.10, No. (%) | 10 (8.4%) | 7 (11.7%) | 3 (5.2%) | 0.44 |
Florbetapir mean (SD) average SUVR | 1.00 (0.09) | 0.99 (0.10) | 0.98 (0.09) | 0.30 |