New research on soccer headers and increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases
Oct 22, 2019
On October 21, 2019, the New England Journal of Medicine released the results of the largest study ever conducted on professional soccer players (over 7,000 players) and neurodegenerative diseases.
The results paint a grim pictures of the potential long-term effects of repetitive headers, with professional soccer players facing increased risks of:
- Neurodegenerative diseases: 3.5x more likely
- Alzheimer: 5x more likely
- ALS / MND: 4x more likely
It's too early to tell what the implications may be for youth players, and there is no data to suggest that wearing any type of protective headgear may reduce this type of risks.
To contribute to this important body of research and answer some of those questions, as a company we are cooperating with the Brain Institute at the University of Stirling (in the United Kingdom) to foster research on the effects of headers on the brain. We will be posting results as the researchers produce them.
For a full account of the study mentioned above, visit:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1908483?query=featured_home
Select journalistic summaries can be found at the links below:
