A new National Institutes of Health study published on Monday found that 41% of athletes who played contact sports and died before age 30 had a degenerative brain disorder associated with head trauma.

Researchers funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH, studied the brains of 152 athletes who played a variety of contact sports, including football, ice hockey, soccer, rugby, and wrestling.

DOUG BURGUM HITS BIDEN ON 'INFLATION CREATION ACT': 'IT'S WRONG ON EVERY FRONT'

Of the deceased participants, 63 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disorder that damages blood vessels in the brain and thereby decreases blood supply. CTE cannot be diagnosed in living patients, so it is impossible to know how many active athletes experience this disorder.

Over 70% of the patients diagnosed posthumously with CTE played contact sports at the amateur level, which the NIH suggests "confirms that CTE can occur even in young athletes exposed to repetitive head impacts."

"All athletes in this study had shown clinical symptoms, regardless of CTE status, as reported by those who knew them," said the NIH press release on the study. "Clinical symptoms of depression, apathy, difficulty controlling behaviors, and problems with decision-making were common, even among donors without CTE."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The report also noted that suicide was the leading cause of death of study participants, followed by unintentional drug overdose.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide was the second leading cause of death for those under age 44.