Estimated effect of playing football on neurocognitive performance, cognitive symptoms and mental health
| MD† | 95% CI‡ | P value‡ | |
| Computerised tests§ | |||
| Psychomotor speed | 1.258 | −4.81 to 7.50 | 0.672 |
| Reaction time | 0.607 | −5.72 to 7.25 | 0.847 |
| Complex attention | 6.043 | −0.78 to 12.38 | 0.062 |
| Cognitive flexibility | 3.782 | −2.82 to 10.44 | 0.212 |
| Processing speed | −0.437 | −7.14 to 6.85 | 0.906 |
| Verbal memory | −7.038 | -12.98,–0.08 | 0.038* |
| Visual memory | −4.757 | −10.27 to 1.78 | 0.127 |
| Pen and paper tests§ | |||
| Category fluency | −7.534 | -13.75,–0.46 | 0.016* |
| Digit span | −1.661 | −7.79 to 4.21 | 0.580 |
| TMT A | 0.472 | −4.97 to 6.15 | 0.876 |
| TMT B | −2.331 | −7.95 to 2.93 | 0.385 |
| PASAT | 4.955 | −0.32 to 10.13 | 0.082 |
| Cognitive symptoms¶ | |||
| Sum score** | 1.050 | 0.03 to 1.98 | 0.044* |
| Mental health¶ | |||
| HADS depression** | 0.969 | 0.20 to 1.71 | 0.026* |
| HADS anxiety** | 0.090 | −0.90 to 1.06 | 0.861 |
| SF36 mental health | −1.988 | −6.02 to 2.11 | 0.336 |
**P<0.05.
†Control group as reference.
‡Bias corrected and accelerated based on 1000 bootstrap samples.
§Adjusted for age, education, bodily pain, depression.
¶Adjusted for age, bodily pain.
**Lower scores=better functioning
HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; MD, mean difference; PASAT, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test; SF-36, SF-36v2 Health Survey; TMT, Trail-Making Test.