New study shows increased dementia risk in football
BBC 2023-06-09 17:24:46 • 2 mins
There have been a number of studies in recent years exploring potential links between heading the ball and developing dementia
Former professional footballers are almost three-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population, new research has found.
The study was commissioned by the Football Association and Professional Footballers' Association and conducted by the University of Nottingham.
They found that 2.8% of retired professional footballers in their study reported medically diagnosed dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, compared to 0.9% of non-players.
That meant the ex-pros were found to be 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases compared to the rest of the population.
