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Retired National Football League Linemen Have High Incidence of Sleep Apnea
Newswise — Sleep disordered breathing, also known as sleep apnea, is highly prevalent among retired National Football League (NFL) players, and particularly in linemen, according to Mayo Clinic research. This study, involving 167 players, adds to the growing body of research examining the relationship between sleep apnea and heart disease, the investigators say.
The study will be presented Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session in Orlando (1048-86). The research was conducted in collaboration with the Living Heart Foundation.
The Mayo data showed that 60 percent of linemen, average age of 54, had sleep disordered breathing (SDB), as defined by having at least 10 sleep-related breathing disorder episodes, such as pauses in breathing, per hour. Linemen had an average of 18.1 episodes per hour. The monitoring of breathing at night was conducted while the retired players slept at home. In addition, researchers discovered that age and obesity (measured by the body mass index, which corrects the weight for a person’s height) were significantly associated with sleep disordered breathing. Linemen had an average BMI of 34.2; a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.
Dr. Virend Somers, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who helped guide the study, noted that the prevalence of sleep apnea and obesity was higher than expected, and serves as a warning that athletes need to monitor their weight and health carefully when they retire, a time when physical activity levels may begin to decline abruptly. While more research is needed to uncover the link between sleep disorders and heart disease, there is evidence that sleep apnea may be a cause of high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease, he says.
For all other study participants (average age of 53), who played other positions, 46 percent had sleep apnea with an average of 13.4 sleep-related disorder episodes per hour. The average BMI was 30.5.
In addition, 45 percent of the linemen and 32 percent of nonlinemen reported having high blood pressure. “High blood pressure is another risk factor for cardiac disease, and may be linked to both obesity and sleep apnea,” Dr. Somers says.
Retired football players, and particularly linemen, need to be aware of sleep disordered breathing and its connection to cardiac risk factors, says lead author Felipe Albuquerque, M.D. “Many people do not realize that they have a sleep disorder,” he says. “They may have no symptoms that they are aware of, but perhaps they know they are tired during the day and they’re told they snore very loudly. These can be clues to the presence of sleep apnea. Our results show that retired linemen need to realize that they are a very high risk population and may need evaluation and treatment.”
Previous research by various institutions and investigators in recent years, much of which has been assisted by the Living Heart Foundation, showed concerning health trends for retired NFL players:
* Retired NFL players are more prone to obesity and obstructive sleep apnea than the general population.
*Retired NFL players have an increased rate of metabolic syndrome, a condition increasingly linked to excess weight and lack of activity, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
* Higher mortality is reported in linemen, as compared to people in the general population of the same age who are not professional football players. Research is needed to determine the causes.
The study will be presented Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session in Orlando (1048-86). The research was conducted in collaboration with the Living Heart Foundation.
The Mayo data showed that 60 percent of linemen, average age of 54, had sleep disordered breathing (SDB), as defined by having at least 10 sleep-related breathing disorder episodes, such as pauses in breathing, per hour. Linemen had an average of 18.1 episodes per hour. The monitoring of breathing at night was conducted while the retired players slept at home. In addition, researchers discovered that age and obesity (measured by the body mass index, which corrects the weight for a person’s height) were significantly associated with sleep disordered breathing. Linemen had an average BMI of 34.2; a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.
Dr. Virend Somers, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who helped guide the study, noted that the prevalence of sleep apnea and obesity was higher than expected, and serves as a warning that athletes need to monitor their weight and health carefully when they retire, a time when physical activity levels may begin to decline abruptly. While more research is needed to uncover the link between sleep disorders and heart disease, there is evidence that sleep apnea may be a cause of high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease, he says.
For all other study participants (average age of 53), who played other positions, 46 percent had sleep apnea with an average of 13.4 sleep-related disorder episodes per hour. The average BMI was 30.5.
In addition, 45 percent of the linemen and 32 percent of nonlinemen reported having high blood pressure. “High blood pressure is another risk factor for cardiac disease, and may be linked to both obesity and sleep apnea,” Dr. Somers says.
Retired football players, and particularly linemen, need to be aware of sleep disordered breathing and its connection to cardiac risk factors, says lead author Felipe Albuquerque, M.D. “Many people do not realize that they have a sleep disorder,” he says. “They may have no symptoms that they are aware of, but perhaps they know they are tired during the day and they’re told they snore very loudly. These can be clues to the presence of sleep apnea. Our results show that retired linemen need to realize that they are a very high risk population and may need evaluation and treatment.”
Previous research by various institutions and investigators in recent years, much of which has been assisted by the Living Heart Foundation, showed concerning health trends for retired NFL players:
* Retired NFL players are more prone to obesity and obstructive sleep apnea than the general population.
*Retired NFL players have an increased rate of metabolic syndrome, a condition increasingly linked to excess weight and lack of activity, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
* Higher mortality is reported in linemen, as compared to people in the general population of the same age who are not professional football players. Research is needed to determine the causes.
Views: 25
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Judy on
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Whilst Mayo Clinic is w/o question one of the absolute best health clinics in the USA if not the world (and my family and I have been going to Mayo for some 50+ years and have had what I feel are THREE "miracles at Mayo") I can tell you from personal experience that their sleep clinic is not exactly their "shining star" department.
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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I thought the Mayo Clinic was out near the Twin Cities in Minnesota. You went all the way over there from Michigan?
Judy said:Whilst Mayo Clinic is w/o question one of the absolute best health clinics in the USA if not the world (and my family and I have been going to Mayo for some 50+ years and have had what I feel are THREE "miracles at Mayo") I can tell you from personal experience that their sleep clinic is not exactly their "shining star" department.
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Oh yeah! A 12 hour drive but worth every second of every trip there and back - except the sleep clinic.
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Permalink Reply by sleepycarol on
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Judy,
My primary care doctor is not a Mayo fan. She thinks that they are overrated and not all that great. But every one has their own biases. She states that they are not a true hospital in that patients are not kept overnight. That they run diagnostic procedures on out patient basis only,
Could you give us a more detail about the clinic from a patients point of view?
Thanks. Carol
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I sure can! As well as expertise in their specialty Mayo always stressed "bedside manner" so most Mayo doctors have a pretty good rapport w/their patients. Due to sheer numbers of patients going thru the Clinic each year the Mayo doctors get greater experience and exposure detecting, Dx'ing and treating the multiple disorders in their field. Again due to sheer numbers Mayo has the latest and greatest in technology, radiology, etc. equipment and their technologists gain more experience in use of the equipment due to the sheer numbers of procedures and tests they do each year. For instance, a radiologist can gain more experience recognizing Crohn's disease manisfestations in a month than most local radiologists could gain in a year; a gastroenterologist can gain more experience recognizing, Dx'ing and treating Crohn's disease in 3 months than a local gasterologist can in 3 years!
One of the first "partners" to join the Drs Mayo developed the pneumatic tube system you used to see used in department stores, etc. in years past. Mayo has always EXCELLED in efficiency. With IBM headquarters in Rochester and the working relationship between Mayo and IBM Mayo is still UNPARALLED in efficiency. They are THE EPITOME of efficiency. Once you arrive for your initial consultation you are on your way for a whirlwind of diagnostic tests and appointments, many the same day unless your initial consultation is late in the afternoon. Most all testing, etc. is done outpatient right there in the various departments.
However, the Mayo doctors cover both St Mary's hospital and Methodist Hospital right there in Rochester, Methodist being right across the street from the Clinic. The doctors rotate alternating days in the Clinic consulting and Dx'ing with attending to patients and surgeries at the two hospitals. As one would expect both hospitals are up to date w/the latest in technology and equipment.
It can take some time to get an initial appointment at Mayo but once you are an established patient, regardless how long between your visits, you receive priority in setting appointments and often can be given an appointment w/in a week of your request for an appointment.
There are plenty of housing accomodations w/in a short distance of the Clinic, many w/in walking distance, and there is an underground shopping and walkway between the various Clinic buildings and hotels nearby. The public transportation during Clinic hours is amazing. There are shuttles from the more distant motels to the Clinic on a regular basis and between St Mary's Hospital and the Clinic (about 11 blocks away) so you can meet your various appointments. There are computer stations where patients can access the internet, their e-mail, etc. thru out the Clinic and to my knowledge just about all the motels/hotels provide internet access. It is a beautiful town, the people are very friendly and helpful.
There is no way a local doctor in private or clinic practice can get the experience in consulting, diagnosing and treating specific disorders that Mayo Clinic affords their doctors. And Mayo attracts the brightest and the best for just this very reason. Year after year Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN has been voted #1 in multiple specialties by US News & World Reports.
How does your doctor think that Cleveland Clinic, U of Michigan, etc. Dx their patients, by hospitalizing them for all testing??? IF so, she is naive and has a lot to learn! And I can tell you from personal experience niether of the above are as EFFICIENT as Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. I can't speak from personal experience for Mayo, Jacksonville, FL or Mayo, Scottsdale, AZ.
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