Interactive Effects of Racial Identity and Repetitive Head Impacts on Cognitive Function, Structural MRI-Derived Volumetric Measures, and Cerebrospinal Fluid Tau and Aβ

Background: Factors of increased prevalence among individuals with Black racial identity (e.g., cardiovascular disease, CVD) may influence the association between exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI) from American football and later-life neurological outcomes. Here, we tested the interaction between racial identity and RHI on neurobehavioral outcomes, brain volumetric measures, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau (p-tau), and Aβ in symptomatic former National Football League (NFL) players.