According to a Swedish study, soccer players are more likely to develop dementia over time. The Lancet, an international weekly journal of general medicine, published the results from the Karolinska Institutet.
The researchers looked at the medical records of more than 6,000 Swedish top division players from 1924 to 2019. This was compared to more than 56,000 control medical records of people in Sweden. The study analyzed neurodegenerative disorders in both groups.
In the end, 8.9% of footballers were diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease. In the control group, the research team found only 6.2% reported developing a neurodegenerative disease. Additionally, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have been found to be more common among soccer players. The group went even further in their conclusions to claim that outfield players had a higher risk of neurodegenerative disease than goalkeepers. The study did not fail to mention that out of the 6,000 players studied, 510 were goalkeepers.
The fact that goalkeepers are less likely to develop diseases like dementia than outfield soccer players demonstrates the inherent risks in heading the ball. Goalkeepers, although rarely expected to use their heads deliberately, have not suffered from the same problems as positions like defenders, midfielders and forwards. Each of these three has a legitimate reason to use their head based on the modern style of the game.
Football changes to prevent dementia among players
Information released in Sweden could contribute to the growing movement to eliminate the use of headers in football. This is, at least, at the youth level. In England, the FA looked into the deliberate head ban for children under 12.
It’s no different in the United States. In 2015, US Soccer banned deliberate capping for children under 10. The Federation argued that this is when the player’s brain is still in its most important development phase. Constant hitting the head of a ball can stunt this growth. MLS understands the importance of properly preventing head injuries and has previously called for temporary head injury replacements.
Now, the information provided by the Swedish study could add to the argument that the head can harm the livelihoods of athletes. If there is statistical evidence of dementia in football players, there is undoubtedly a reason to limit the title.
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