Shock research shows that playing soccer regularly leads to a measurable decline in brain function and increases the risk of dementia

A new study has found that regularly coaching a football game can cause memory and thinking skills to deteriorate after just two years.

Concerns about the impact headgear can have on players recently led to the English Football Association issuing a ban for under-12s, while Scotland introduced rules on headgear the day before and after the match.

The latest study on its effects examined brain changes in 148 amateur players using brain scans over a two-year period, as well as performance on memory and learning tasks.

The tests were carried out twice: once at the beginning of the study and once two years later. It showed that high head level is not only linked to brain changes that indicate poorer memory, but also to worsening task performance.

Several players who played ball for years have since been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a brain disease that involves repeated brain trauma and eventually leads to dementia. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, and impaired judgment.

A number of football players have developed dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that occurs in people with a history of repeated brain trauma. In the photo: Dortmund’s Harry Kane (right) and Mats Hummels shoot with their heads

In 2002, West Bromwich Albion striker Jeff Astle died aged 59 of complications from chronic traumatic cerebral encephalopathy.

A coroner later ruled that throwing the ball during his career “damaged his brain” and that he died of a “work-related illness.”

Previous studies suggest that the common effects may affect brain function and increase the risk of a certain type of dementia.

Sir Bobby Charlton, considered one of England’s greatest footballers of all time, was diagnosed with the disease in 2020 and died this year.

Several other players in his World Cup-winning team have also been diagnosed with the disease. According to the NHS, one in 11 people over 65 in the UK will develop the disease.

However, the new research focused on the effect on the brain at a certain point in time, without tracking participants over the years.

“There is great concern worldwide about brain injuries in general and the possibility that football can have long-term harmful effects on the brain,” lead author dr. Michael Lipton, professor of radiology at Columbia University.

“Much of this concern relates to the potential for changes in young adulthood to reduce the risk of neurodegeneration and dementia later in life,” he added.

Several players from England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team have been diagnosed with dementia, which affects one in 11 people over 65 in Britain, according to the NHS.

Considered one of England’s greatest ever footballers, Sir Bobby Charlton was diagnosed with dementia in 2020

Former Team USA forward Bruce Murray (57) is one of the former athletes suspected of having CTE, although the disease can only be diagnosed after death.

Murray recently revealed he had been diagnosed with dementia – after forgetting to turn off his car’s ignition, checking himself into hotels for no reason and falling into a canal after losing his balance.

Jeff Astle, a British player for Notts County and West Bromwich Albion, was the first British footballer to suffer from CTE, according to an inquest.

Your risk of dementia is greatest if you sit for long periods of time every day

Sitting or driving in front of the TV for more than 10 hours a day increases the risk of dementia, according to a study.

Astle died in 2022 at the age of 59.

During a headbutt, the rapid movement of the skull causes friction between the brain and the bones in the head and stretches the brain tissue.

Head exercise also stimulates inflammation in the brain, which can affect the small blood vessels that play a critical role in protecting against dementia and other degenerative brain diseases.

Repeated football headers are also believed to lead to the release of harmful proteins.

Researchers at Columbia University studied 148 young adult amateur soccer players with an average age of 27 years.

About 39 of the participants were women.

At the beginning and end of the study, researchers asked players to fill out a questionnaire indicating how often they hit the ball with their head.

The survey consisted of a series of questions about how often someone passes the ball, practices and heads the ball and in which situations.

The two-year price risk is divided into “low”, “moderate” and “high” categories.

Players were also assessed on their ability to memorize and recall word lists.

At the start of the study and two years later, they also underwent an MRI scan called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

DTI records the structure of the brain by tracking the microscopic movement of water molecules through the tissue.

Compared to their baseline results, the high-header group (who completed more than 1,500 headshots in two years) showed significant changes in the frontal brain areas involved in memory and learning.

Dr Lipton said: “Our analysis found that high levels of physical activity over the two-year period were associated with changes in brain microstructure, similar to findings seen in mild traumatic brain injury.”

“High levels of heading were also associated with a decline in verbal learning performance.” This is the first study to demonstrate a long-term change in brain structure associated with head impacts during football.

American Brandi Chastain (pictured right) and Canada’s Charmaine Hooper (pictured left) serve the ball during their semifinal match at the Women’s Gold Cup tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 1, 2000

Dr. Lipton and his team conducted a follow-up study on the impact of repeated football games on verbal learning performance.

They analyzed the course over twelve months and administered DTI and verbal reasoning tests to 353 amateur soccer players between the ages of 18 and 53.

The brain consists of gray and white matter. The processing of sensations, perception, voluntary movement, learning, language and cognition takes place in the gray matter.

White matter provides communication between gray matter areas and between gray matter and the rest of the body.

The boundaries where the gray matter and white matter of the brain meet is called the “gray matter-white matter interface”.

There is a sharp difference between the two that indicates a healthy brain.

In addition, there is a significant difference in the density of brain material in this area, which makes it more susceptible to injury.

The researchers found that the normally sharp interface between gray and white matter was blunted due to the high stress of repeated head impacts.

DR. Lipton: “We used DTI to determine the sharpness of the transition from gray to white matter.”

“In various brain diseases, the typically sharp difference between these two brain tissues becomes a more gradual or blurred transition.”

With over 370,000 players worldwide, soccer is now the third most played sport for girls in secondary schools.