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A study published Friday (8) in the United Kingdom shows that football players are more likely to develop brain health problems after the age of 65 than the rest of the population.
The SCORES study, led by researchers from the University of East Anglia (East of England), relies on online tests to remotely assess cognitive functions and monitor brain development.
About 145 former professional players participated in the study. Fifty-five of them are over the age of 65.
According to the study’s conclusions, former soccer players between the ages of 40 and 50 show better results than the general population, but the trend reverses with age.
“When they reach 65, things start to get worse,” said Dr. Michael Gray, who led the study.
“Football players over 65 years of age do the worst in areas such as reaction time, executive functions (which make it possible, above all, to manage and control non-routine situations or perform many actions at the same time) or positioning. It is clear that these are preliminary signs of declining brain health.”
This new study is in line with the findings of an investigation by the University of Glasgow, which revealed the previous one football They were three and a half times more likely than the general population to die from a neurodegenerative disease such as dementia or Parkinson’s disease.
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This type of research has raised awareness of the impact of sports on brain health and led to calls for better protection for soccer players.
The SCORES study will continue in the coming years and expand with a larger sample.
“It will give us a very clear picture of the potential damage caused by the header,” Gray explained. It will also try to collect data on soccer players.
The family of Nobby Stills, the 1966 world football champion with England who died in 2020 due to dementia, announced last month that it was considering suing the English Football Association, accusing it of not adequately protecting players from the risks of brain damage.
Other sports question their health consequences, such as boxing, but also more recently rugby and American football.
(With information from AFP)
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