FOOTBALLERS HAVE 50 PERCENT CHANCES OF DEVELOPING DEMENTIA, STUDY REVEALS

The study then examined the difference in outfield players and goalkeepers’ cognitive health and found that outfield players had more chances of suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. However, the goalkeepers who rarely head the ball had fewer chances of dementia, “supporting the hypothesis that mild head impacts sustained when heading the ball could explain the increased risk in outfield players,” concluded the study.

Karolinska Institute’s assistant professor and the study’s co-author Peter Ueda said, “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 football careers and perhaps also after retirement.”

Speaking about the possibility of heading the ball leading to dementia, UCL Genetics Institute’s honorary professor David Curtis said, “It seems extremely plausible that repeatedly heading the ball during training and normal play produces brain damage which over time can result in dementia.”