Football: professional players have three times more risk of dementia

Sport preserves health, but what about when it is practiced at a high level? According to researchers from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, it could become dangerous. According to their recent work, published in JAMAformer professional football players are more likely to suffer from dementia a few years after the interruption of their career.

A former player who died in 2002

In 2002, former striker Jeff Astle died aged 59 from a neurodegenerative disease. An investigation proved that there were links between his brain damage and the number of headbutts made in his career. This case was the starting point of the Scottish study. The researchers wanted to understand the impact of heading games on the long-term brain health of players. To achieve this, they compared the deaths of 7,676 former players to 23,000 others, this time concerning the general population. The players had all practiced in Scotland, and were born between 1900 and 1976.

Professional sport: higher risks, but protective effects

According to the results, professional football players have a five times higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, four times higher risk of neuromotor disease, and twice higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, compared to the general population. . Their risk of suffering from a neurodegenerative disease, such as dementia, is about 3.5 times greater than the rest of the population. Depending on the position held and the length of the career, the risks vary: defenders are almost five times more likely to suffer from a neurodegenerative disease compared to the general population. They are the most exposed players on a team. Players who have practiced professional football for fifteen years or more are more at risk than those who have had a shorter career. However, researchers find that sport has beneficial effects on the health of players in the long term: they have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and are less exposed to certain cancers, such as lung cancer. “If every effort must be made to identify the factors that contribute to the increase in the risk of neurodegenerative disease in order to reduce it, it is also necessary to take into account all the potential health benefits linked to the practice of football.how Dr. Willie Stewart, author of the study, on the site of the BBC.

Limited head kicks in practice

The study was carried out at the request of two British bodies: the English Football Association and the Association of Professional Footballers. But this is not the first action of these organizations in raising awareness of the risks incurred by players. Last July, the English Football Federation published new recommendations for the training of footballers: she advises them not to make more than ten strong headbutts during a week of training. By “sustained headbutt”it targets those following a long pass, more than 35 meters, or crosses, corners or free kicks.