Table 1 Demographic characteristics of brain donors by CTE status
 | No CTE (n = 180) | Mild CTE (n = 163) | Severe CTE (n = 288) | All (n = 631) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Age at death, mean (SD) | 53.0 (21.8) | 47.5 (19.0) | 70.9 (12.2) | 59.7 (20.1) |
Age at death, median (IQR; range) | 57 (36,49; 13,97) | 47 (30,62; 17,89) | 73 (65,79; 30,97) | 65 (46,76; 13,97) |
Cause of death (%) | ||||
 Accidental overdose | 12 (6.9%) | 10 (6.3%) | 5 (1.8%) | 27 (4.4%) |
 Cancer | 11 (6.3%) | 10 (6.3%) | 23 (8.2%) | 44 (7.1%) |
 Cardiovascular disease | 29 (16.6%) | 28 (17.5%) | 47 (16.7%) | 104 (16.9%) |
 Injury | 6 (3.4%) | 9 (5.6%) | 5 (1.8%) | 20 (3.2%) |
 Motor neuron disease | 2 (1.1%) | 7 (4.4%) | 12 (4.3%) | 21 (3.4%) |
 Neurodegenerative disease | 48 (27.4%) | 14 (8.8%) | 141 (50.0%) | 203 (32.9%) |
 Suicide | 46 (26.3%) | 48 (30.0%) | 14 (5.0%) | 108 (17.5%) |
 Other | 20 (11.4%) | 34 (21.3%) | 35 (12.4%) | 89 (14.4%) |
 Unknown | 1 (0.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (0.2%) |
Race (%) | ||||
 Asian | 1 (0.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (0.2%) |
 Black/African American | 21 (11.7%) | 29 (17.9%) | 51 (17.7%) | 101 (16.1%) |
 Native American/Alaskan | 2 (1.1%) | 1 (0.6%) | 1 (0.3%) | 4 (0.6%) |
 Pacific islander | 1 (0.6%) | 1 (0.6%) | 1 (0.3%) | 3 (0.5%) |
 White | 151 (84.4%) | 127 (78.4%) | 234 (81.3%) | 512 (81.4%) |
 Other | 3 (1.7%) | 4 (2.5%) | 1 (0.3%) | 8 (1.3%) |
Sex (%) | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Female | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) |
 Male | 180 (100.0%) | 163 (100.0%) | 288 (100.0%) | 631 (100.0%) |
Education level (%) | ||||
 No high school | 3 (1.7%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (0.3%) | 4 (0.6%) |
 Some high school | 10 (5.6%) | 2 (1.2%) | 0 (0.0%) | 12 (1.9%) |
 High school/GED | 21 (11.7%) | 3 (1.9%) | 4 (1.4%) | 28 (4.4%) |
 Some college | 47 (26.1%) | 40 (24.7%) | 46 (16.0%) | 133 (21.3%) |
 College degree | 56 (31.3%) | 87 (53.7%) | 150 (52.1%) | 293 (46.5%) |
 More than college | 6 (3.3%) | 3 (1.9%) | 22 (7.6%) | 31 (4.9%) |
 Graduate degree | 37 (20.6%) | 27 (16.7%) | 65 (22.6%) | 129 (20.5%) |