A dose-response relationship exists between number of years playing hockey and risk and severity of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), new research suggests.
Early results from a study that examined donor brains showed that each additional year of ice hockey play increased the risk for CTE by 23%.
This information should be on the "radar" of all clinicians, co-investigator Jesse Mez, MD, associate professor of neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News.
"When they're talking to kids and families and parents about playing contact sports, they should discuss the benefits as well as the risks so all that information can be taken into consideration," he added.
Metz noted that clinicians should also consider the amount of hockey played when assessing patients for thinking and memory trouble later in life.
"CTE could be in the differential diagnosis," he said.
The study findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2022 Annual Meeting in April.
Football Data
CTE is a neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive hits to the head. In previous research, the investigators showed that the more that athletes play American football, the more likely they are to develop CTE.
"Hockey, like football, involves repetitive head impacts as part of the game," said Mez.
