Professional soccer players have an increased risk of dementia. This is the conclusion of Swedish researchers who analyzed information on all Swedish-born players in the top football league from 1924 to 2019.
However, this does not apply to goalkeepers, as they play less often in head-to-head matches.
According to the scientists, out of about 6000 football players studied, 9% developed dementia or similar brain diseases. Among 56,000 Swedes from other professions during the same period, this indicator was 6%. This means that the risk of these diseases is about one and a half times higher for football players than for the general population.
On the other hand, the risk of developing other types of brain diseases, such as motor neuron disease, was not higher than average among football players, and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease was lower.
The pattern discovered by the scientists does not concern goalkeepers, who rarely hit the ball with their heads.
According to one of the study’s authors, Dr. Peter Ueda of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, the research may confirm a link between mild concussions caused by such impacts and the development of dementia in later life. But there are still questions. Head injury is only one factor that increases the risk of dementia. The development of related diseases can also lead to it.
The researchers admit that they did not have enough information about the habits of the soccer players they studied. In addition, footballs in the 1950s and 1960s were made of leather and were heavier. Therefore, it is difficult to estimate the risk of dementia for modern football players.
In addition, says study co-author Bjorn Pasternak, it is unclear to what extent the damage from head impacts is compensated by the overall good physical health of football players. He believes this may also explain the low risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Dr Sara Imarisio of the British Association for Alzheimer’s Disease Research says it would be wrong to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease to head injuries from playing football alone – it is determined by genes and age, as well as lifestyle. “Head impacts may be a factor, but it is also possible that other aspects of the players’ lives, both on and off the field, may play a role,” she says.
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Swedish scientists were not the first to take an interest in the issue of dementia in football players. In 2019, a team of researchers from the University of Glasgow, after studying the statistics of British football players, concluded that the risk of developing brain diseases is 3.5 times higher among professional players than among others. A study conducted after the death of West Bromwich Albion striker Jeff Astle led to changes in training and match rules for football associations in the UK and Europe. Junior players were instructed to head the ball less during training and matches, while adults were only allowed to head the ball during training.
Professor Tara Spears-Jones of the University of Edinburgh points out that there is plenty of evidence to suggest that general exercise is good for your health. “I would come to this conclusion: protect your brain by exercising and avoiding injuries and blows to the head,” she says.
Dementia is a symptom of a group of diseases, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease. Its symptoms worsen over time and include loss of memory and orientation, language problems, and changes in behavior. Approximately 900,000 people in the UK and 57 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. The majority are over the age of 65.