The analysis ultimately uncovered the risk for various neurodegenerative conditions– such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease, and motor neuron disease. It also looked at the risks among outfield players versus goalkeepers.
In general, soccer players were found to have a 1.5 times greater risk of neurodegenerative disease– ranking at 9% as compared to the 6% of control populations.
However, the authors did note that most study participants– both soccer players and control– were still alive by the end of their data collection. So, they suggested that the lifetime risk of developing neurodegenerative disease among both groups is likely higher.
They also revealed that goalkeepers did not have a significantly higher risk of disease compared to controls. Instead, it was outfield players who had a one and half times greater risk of neurodegenerative disease.
“Importantly, our findings suggest that goalkeepers don’t have the same increased risk of neurodegenerative disease as outfield players. Goalkeepers rarely head the ball, unlike outfield players, but are exposed to similar environments and lifestyles during their careers and perhaps also after retirement,” Ueda said.
“It has been hypothesized that repetitive mild head trauma sustained through heading the ball is the reason soccer players are at increased risk, and it could be that the difference in neurodegenerative disease risk between these two types of players supports this theory.”
In general, about 8% of soccer players were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias; meanwhile, the control populations saw a lower 5% diagnosis rate.
But, there was no significant diagnosis difference for motor neuron disease, which also includes ALS.
Additionally, the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease was actually lower among soccer players at 40%– compared to the control at 42%.
Finally, the researchers observed lower overall mortality rates among soccer players– which may suggest that their general health is better than people in the general population.
“Likely because of maintaining good physical fitness from frequently playing [soccer],” detailed Bjorn Pasternak, a senior researcher at the Karolinska Institutet.