Dementia risk higher for elite soccer players, study finds

This is a MedPage Today story.

Men who played elite soccer were more likely to develop neurodegenerative diseases — notably, dementia — as they aged, a study in Sweden showed.

The risk of neurodegenerative disease was 46% higher among soccer players who played in the Swedish top division than in the general population, according to Dr. Peter Ueda of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and co-authors.

Alzheimer’s disease and dementia were 62% more common among soccer players than controls, the researchers reported in Lancet Public Health.

Goalkeepers did not have an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease but outfield players did, suggesting repetitive hits from heading the ball may be a factor.

“In contrast to outfield players, goalkeepers rarely head the ball,” Ueda told MedPage Today. “Although other factors that differ by [soccer] player position could also affect this difference, the finding lends support to the hypothesis that heading the ball may increase the risk of dementia.”

A previous study in Scotland showed that neurodegenerative disease mortality among former professional soccer players was about 3.5 times higher than the general population.

More recently, the Scotland research team reported that neurodegenerative disease risk in former soccer players was associated with field position and career length, indicating a higher risk with cumulative exposure to outfield positions.

“The fact that this well-conducted study replicates prior research on [soccer] players in Scotland should convince skeptics that the connection between heading and dementia is real and preventable,” said Chris Nowinski of the Concussion Legacy Foundation in Boston, who wasn’t involved with the study.

“We need to take steps to minimize risk by increasing the age at which children begin heading, and then take steps to reduce the frequency and magnitude of headers,” Nowinski told MedPage Today.

“The Football Association in England is leading the conversation on age of first exposure by eliminating heading before age 12,” Nowinski pointed out.

“Other countries should match that policy, and I anticipate the age will increase as people begin to realize the benefits of fewer concussions in children and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) cases in [soccer] players,” he added. “Once heading is introduced, sports organizations need to set strict limits, especially on…