Current physical and mental health of former collegiate athletes

Abstract

Background: There is a dearth of research on the current health of former collegiate athletes. Purpose: To examine the current health and related correlates in a cohort of former collegiate athletes who played in a diverse range of men’s and women’s sports with various levels of contact. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Former collegiate athletes (N = 3657) were asked to complete an online questionnaire addressing sports history, medical history, and demographics. The questionnaire also included the Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12), which yielded 2 composite scores for physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) health. The VR-12 PCS and MCS scores were compared with published US normative data using t tests and analyses of variance. Results: Mean PCS and MCS scores of the 797 respondents with complete data (21.9% of target sample; average, 14.5 years since last played collegiate sport) were 53.0 ± 6.1 and 51.7 ± 9.4, respectively. When stratified by age and sex, PCS and MCS scores were similar to normative scores in the United States. Lower PCS scores were associated with sustaining ≤3 concussions, playing in collision sports during college, and sustaining a career-ending injury (all, P