Football players and Alzheimer’s risk. A study by the prestigious Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm has shown that the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases for those who play professional football can jump up to 50 percent. The results were published in the scientific journal Lancet Public Health.
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Players and risk of Alzheimer’s: the fault would be the repeated headbutts
Already another search had shown that soccer players are more likely to develop the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis compared to the general population. In this case, however, the team at the Swedish research center explained that at the origin there are i micro-trauma suffered during football matches. However, the researchers warn that this is only a hypothesis. In the document they argue that “it has been suggested that the trauma sustained by repeatedly hitting the head with a soccer ball causes neurodegenerationalthough the evidence for such a link is inconsistent, incomplete, and controversial.”
Football players and risk of Alzheimer’s: however, that of Parkinson’s is lowered
The researchers put under the magnifying glass the data of more than 6,000 footballers who played in the major Swedish leagues between 1924 and 2019. The results seem to leave no room for doubt. From the processing of information, the research group demonstrated that overall players had a 50% greater risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases compared to the general population. The increased risk mainly concerned Alzheimer’s (+62%). For the Parkinson the situation is the opposite. According to the analysis, the risk is reduced by 32 percent. Furthermore, the phenomenon did not concern goalkeepers.
Overall health is better though
Despite a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases, soccer players had lower mortality. This “indicates that their overall health was better than the general population, probably because they maintained good physical shape by playing soccer frequently.” Björn Pasternak is among the authors of the study. “Good fitness could also be the reason behind a lower risk of Parkinson’s.”
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