# Clinical Research on Mental Health in Retired Athletes > **Author:** Benjamin Caplan, MD (ABFM Board Certified, MA Lic. #240562, NPI: 1962722637) > **Publisher:** CED Clinic (https://cedclinic.com) > **Canonical URL:** https://cedclinic.com/mental-health-retired-athletes-clinical-research/ > **Published:** 2026-03-04T21:36:53-04:00 | **Last Modified / Clinically Audited:** 2026-09-28T17:26:22-04:00 > **Clinical Summary:** Explore clinical research on mental health retired athletes, focusing on depression, anxiety, and cognitive concerns in high contact sports. --- #### Clinical Takeaway Retired professional athletes from high contact team sports such as football, rugby, and ice hockey show elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and cognitive concerns compared to the general population. Career-ending injuries, repeated head trauma, loss of athletic identity, and poor transition support are among the key factors that negatively affect mental health after retirement. Early intervention, structured transition programs, and ongoing mental health monitoring are critical for this vulnerable population. ### #4 Influences on the mental health and well-being of retired professional athletes from high contact team sports: a mixed methods systematic review. **Citation:** Vella Jordan D et al. *Influences on the mental health and well-being of retired professional athletes from high contact team sports: a mixed methods systematic review.* British journal of sports medicine. 2026. PMID: 40930571. **Study type:** Journal Article, Systematic Review  |  **Topic area:** Sleep  |  **CED Score:** 12 Design: 5 Journal: 0 N: 2 Recency: 3 Pop: 1 Human: 1 Risk: 0 **Methodological Considerations:** - Self-reported outcomes — recall and social-desirability bias risk - Cross-sectional design — causal inference not possible **Abstract:** OBJECTIVE: To report the prevalence of mental health symptoms and influencing factors in retired professional high contact team sport (HCTS) athletes. DESIGN: Mixed-methods systematic review. DATA SOURCES: PsycINFO, Embase, Medline, SPORTDiscus and Scopus were searched in July 2023 and March 2025. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Studies that investigated mental health and/or influencing factors within retired professional HCTS athletes were included. Studies that were non-peer-reviewed, could not obtain full text, used secondary data or focused on non-elite/individual/low-contact sports were excluded. RESULTS: 85 studies were included in the final review, comprising 53 996 participants (females; n=247, 0.46%) from six sports (Australian Football League, Canadian Football League, football/soccer, ice hockey, National Football League and rugby). Prevalence ranges varied for each condition; smoking (0.9%-16%), depression (3%-49%), anxiety (4.3%-42%), [cannabis use](https://cedclinic.com/cannabis-cardiovascular-health-insights-2024/) (5%-15.7%), adverse alcohol use (6.4%-68.8%), opioid use (7%-23.6%), stress (8.7%-26.9%), illicit drug use (10%-63.2%), anxiety/depression (10.2%-39%) and adverse nutritional behaviour (23.8%-64.5%). Of the studies including M and SD of validated scales, scores for depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance were equivalent to population norms, whereas mild or higher scores were reported for stress and adverse alcohol use. Concussion, pain, injury, neurological factors and declined physical function were shown to have a negative influence on mental health. Both negative and positive influences were observed for: athletic identity, psychosocial support, retirement autonomy, life events, osteoarthritis, retirement and [cognitive function](https://cedclinic.com/reverse-cholesterol-transport-function-cannabis-users/). 48% of studies had good methodological quality; however, most studies were cross-sectional, relied on self-report measures and lacked follow-up data and female athletes. CONCLUSION: Retired HCTS athletes experience high levels of psychological distress and adverse alco Clinical Perspective This systematic review documenting elevated mental health burden in retired contact sport athletes provides important context for cannabis discussions in this population, though the review itself does not address [cannabinoid therapeutics](https://cedclinic.com/medcan3-trial-cancer-symptoms/). Retired athletes may self-report [cannabis use](https://cedclinic.com/cannabis-cardiovascular-health-insights-2024/) for [chronic pain](https://cedclinic.com/cannabinoids-pain-management-opioid-alternative/), sleep disturbance, and mood symptoms stemming from cumulative head trauma, repeated injuries, and post-career identity loss, yet the evidence base for cannabis efficacy in these specific contexts remains limited and confounded by concurrent use of other substances, untreated underlying conditions like CTE-related neurodegeneration, and selection bias in observational studies. While some retired athletes describe subjective benefit from cannabis for symptom management, we lack rigorous controlled trials isolating cannabinoid effects in this vulnerable population, and cannabis use itself may obscure diagnosis of treatable psychiatric and neurological conditions requiring different interventions. Clinicians should recognize that cannabis may be attractive to this group precisely because conventional mental health and pain services are underutilized, suggesting that comprehensive assessment and evidence-based treatment of depression,  |  Further Reading CED Clinic Blog[Why Cannabis Works](https://cedclinic.com/why-cannabis-works/) Evidence Watch[Cannabis and Heart Health](https://cedclinic.com/cannabis-cardiovascular-health-study/) CED Clinic Blog[Cannabis for Sleep](https://cedclinic.com/cannabis-for-sleep/) [View on PubMed ↗](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40930571/)[DOI ↗](https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108953) [https://cedclinic.com/contact/](https://cedclinic.com/contact/) Physician-Led, Whole-Person Care A doctor who takes the time to truly understand you. Personal care that starts with listening and is guided by experience and ingenuity. Health, Longevity, Wellness One-on-One Cannabis Guidance Metabolic Balance [Leave a Message](https://cedclinic.com/contact/) [Metabolic Care](https://cedclinic.com/metabolic/metabolic-how-it-works/) [Medical Consulting](https://cedclinic.com/book/) [Cannabis Care](https://cedclinic.com/book/) [https://cedclinic.com/contact/](https://cedclinic.com/contact/) RELATED READING AT CED CLINIC Continue exploring the evidence Endocannabinoid System Research: Athlete Mental Health Explore detailed research on the endocannabinoid system's role in athlete mental health and its clinical implications. Read More [Influences on Mental Health of Retired Professional Athletes](https://cedclinic.com/mental-health-retired-professional-athletes-influences/) A mixed methods systematic review examining factors affecting mental health in retired high contact team sport athletes. [Explore Study](https://cedclinic.com/mental-health-retired-professional-athletes-influences/) [Cannabinoids & Athlete Mental Health: Clinical Evidence](https://cedclinic.com/cannabinoid-clinical-trials-athlete-mental-health/) Review clinical evidence on cannabinoids and their potential impact on athlete mental health and symptom management. [Learn More](https://cedclinic.com/cannabinoid-clinical-trials-athlete-mental-health/) Have thoughts on this? 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