Boston University Study On CTE Suggests Odds Of Developing The Disease Increases With Every Year Players Play Hockey

The ongoing story of hockey players and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) took another step forward with the publishing of the largest-ever study on the brains of male hockey players – a study that suggests the odds of getting a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated traumatic brain injuries increases with every year played.

The Boston University study, which published its findings Dec. 4 in the journal JAMA Network Open, studied 77 deceased male hockey players, from the high school level to the NHL level, and the study concluded that the likelihood of having CTE increased by 34 percent each year the player played. Scientists also found that none of the players who played hockey for fewer than six years had CTE.

“Ice hockey players with longer careers not only were more likely to have CTE, but they also had more severe disease,” said study author Jesse Mez, co-director of clinical research at the CTE Centre and associate professor of neurology at Boston University.

Of the 77 players' brains researchers studied by Boston University, more than half had CTE, which can only be diagnosed after athletes have died. Approximately 10 percent of youth and high school players had CTE. And of the professional hockey players examined, 96 percent had CTE, including 18 of 19 NHL players whose brains were examined posthumously. With players who identified as hockey enforcers, 18 of 22 had CTE.

“We did see the odds increased by two for being an enforcer,” Mez said before he noted that the difference between enforcers and non-enforcers was not statistically significant.

To be sure, the debate over causation for CTE in hockey players is far from over. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has denied there’s a direct link between playing hockey and developing CTE, but Boston University has continued to present data that strongly suggests a link between playing the game at high levels and being diagnosed with traumatic head injuries.

Related: Growing the Game: NHL Commissioner Denies Link Between Hockey and CTE

In November, the NHL Players' Association announced the formation of a new committee to study CTE. And this new Boston University study will likely shed more light on the subject.

Whether you believe there’s a causation link between professional hockey playing and CTE, you have to acknowledge the issue is worthy of continued study. The problem is not going away, and having medical experts provide their data isn’t going to hurt anyone.

There’s a widespread problem with hockey players and traumatic head injuries, and this Boston University study only adds to the information that hockey has a significant problem with CTE – whether you’re talking about an enforcer or a different kind of player.

“This isn’t something that’s just affecting enforcers,” Mez said. “This is affecting a fair amount of the hockey players we studied.”

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