Dementia risk in professional footballers is linked to player position and career length, study finds

Iacobucci, Gareth

doi:10.1136/bmj.n1934

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 1 publication

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“…The findings supported those reported in a previous study in Scotland that found that footballers were around 3.5 as likely to develop neurodegenerative disease 2. In a follow up, the same researchers later reported that the risk of neurodegenerative disease in former professional players varied with the position they played and length of their career but not by which decade they played in 3…”

Section: Growing Body Of Evidencesupporting

confidence: 89%

Male footballers are 50% more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease, finds Swedish study

Mahase¹

2023

BMJ

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Section: Growing Body Of Evidencesupporting

confidence: 89%

Male footballers are 50% more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease, finds Swedish study

Mahase¹

2023

BMJ

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Cognitive Impairment and Self-Reported Dementia in UK Retired Professional Soccer Players: A Cross Sectional Comparative Study

Macnab,

Espahbodi,

Hogervorst

et al. 2023

Sports Med - Open

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Background Previous studies based on death certificates have found professional soccer players were more likely to die with neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether retired professional male soccer players would perform worse on cognitive tests and be more likely to self-report dementia diagnosis than general population control men. Methods A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted between August 2020 and October 2021 in the United Kingdom (UK). Professional soccer players were recruited through different soccer clubs in England, and general population control men were recruited from the East Midlands in the UK. We obtained self-reported postal questionnaire data on dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, comorbidities and risk factors from 468 soccer players and 619 general population controls. Of these, 326 soccer players and 395 general population controls underwent telephone assessment for cognitive function. Results Retired soccer players were approximately twice as likely to score below established dementia screening cut-off scores on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (OR 2.06, 95%CI 1.11–3.83) and Verbal Fluency (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.18–2.68), but not the Test Your Memory, modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Analyses were adjusted for age, education, hearing loss, body mass index, stroke, circulatory problems in the legs and concussion. While retired soccer players were younger, had fewer cardiovascular diseases and other morbidities and reported healthier lifestyles, 2.8% of retired soccer players reported medically diagnosed dementia and other neurodegenerative disease compared to 0.9% of controls (OR = 3.46, 95% CI 1.25–9.63) after adjustment for age and possible confounders. Conclusions UK male retired soccer players had a higher risk of performing below established cut-off scores of dementia screening tests and were more likely to self-report medically diagnosed dementia and neurodegenerative diseases, despite having better overall physical health and fewer dementia risk factors. Further study is needed to determine specific soccer-related risk factors.

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Dementia risk in professional footballers is linked to player position and career length, study finds

Cited by 2 publications

References 1 publication

Male footballers are 50% more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease, finds Swedish study

Male footballers are 50% more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease, finds Swedish study

Cognitive Impairment and Self-Reported Dementia in UK Retired Professional Soccer Players: A Cross Sectional Comparative Study

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