Dementia study backed by England boss short of participants
A study involving Gareth Southgate, which is examining whether heading and concussion increase the risk of dementia among professional players, is around 100 participants short of its ideal target, one of its leaders has said.
Participants, who include England manager Southgate, are asked to perform a number of tests of cognitive function, including recalling elements from a short story and matching faces to names and jobs.
They will also be asked to report on any incidents of concussion during their careers and provide information which will help researchers gauge how frequently they headed the ball in matches and training.
Any member of the Professional Footballers' Association aged50oroveriseligibletotake part, with all the assessments conducted via the telephone or online,butsofarthestudyleaders have only around 200 of the 300 participants they would ideally like.
"It's going OK, but maybe not as fast as we'd hoped, so it was good to have support from Gareth Southgate," Professor Neil Pearce, from the London Schoolofhygieneandtropical Medicine, said.
"There are a number of reasons for that. One of them is Covid and the various lockdowns. We're going to get to the numbers we require, but it's just taking a bit longer than we expected. Having Gareth's support is a big help."
The study forms part of the Football Association and PFA'S efforts to examine what causes the link between an increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders and a career in the professional game, which was established by the FIELD study in 2019.
A similar study among former professional rugby players, called BRAIN, involved physical assessments such as a grip strength test and a 'chair rise'testtomeasurelowerbody mobility.
However, the coronavirus pandemic means those assessmentswillnotbeafeatureofthe HEADING study as was originally intended, and all information will be gathered without face-to-face contact.
"The tests are fairly standard things, like a series of pictures where there's a name, there's a faceandajob,"professorpearce said.
"Then 30 minutes later you mightbeshownthefaceandbe asked to remember the name and the job.
"We're not looking for major problems-whatwearelooking for is minor differences in cognitive function. I know myself as I get older I don't remember things quite so well and I slow down a bit and that's quite normal with age, but we're trying to see at any given age if there's adifferenceinpeoplewhohave had a lot of concussions, for example, and people who have headed the ball a lot."
Professor Pearce confirmed participants would also be
asked to recall elements of a short story immediately, and then again at a later point.
He said the study team will be looking for "subtle differences"
in how individuals perform.
"It's generally accepted that if you are going to have problems like Alzheimer's later in life, it
will begin to show up at an earlier age, that you might score a little bit less on some of these cognitive function tests," he said.
A former Hibs winger has opened up on the racial abuse he was subjected to during his career that prompted him to join forces with education charity Show Racism the Red Card.
Michael Weir, who won the Skol Cup with Hibs in 1991, spent most of his career in Scotland but had two loan spells in England; one with Luton Town in 1987 and the other with Millwall in 1996.
During his stint at The Den, the diminutive winger was in a minority ethnic group and, as a result, targeted by bullies and abused for being Scottish.
That experience prompted Weir to devote time after hanging up his boots to supporting theshowracismtheredcard charity in a bid to empower young people to never give up. He believes straight talking around the issue of discrimination is the best way of stopping abusive behaviour and comments.
Weir said: “It is not easy but young people need to be really determined and just keep going, no matter how hard it gets. You’ve got to get over every hurdle. There is no reason that youngsters can’t go on and live the dream, no matter how hard it gets. Just keep on going and keep believing.”
The former Easter Road favourite is taking part in a virtual event at Ross High School in Tranent on March 2-3 to support the school's diversity and inclusion programme. He will be drawing on his own experiences of thriving in the face of adversity.
Weir believes it’s vital that young people realise anyone
can be a victim of discrimination because of ethnic background or nationality – so he supports the SRTRC charity in a bid to engage youngsters and empower them to make positive choices.
He said: “We must challenge racism. It is hugely damaging behaviour. I heard the abuse thrown at black players when I played in England and it was not acceptable. We can’t have this hatred of people for their colour of skin, religion, or
whatever.”
Jordan Allison, Scotland’s campaign manager for Show Racism the Red Card, said: “Workshops with Show Racism the Red Card combine engaging activities and thought-provoking discussion points to help young people prepare to play an active role as citizens in an increasingly multicultural society.
"The aim is creating safe and inclusive classrooms. Highprofile footballers are commit
ted to working with schoolchildren to achieve this vision which, in turn, can inform future generations about the causes and consequences of racism, exploring the many forms it takes throughout society."
As part of the workshops, a number of T-shirts promoting the charity and its values, which have been worn and signed by prominent Scottish Premiership players, will be offered as prizes to the pupils who make the most positive contributions during the sessions.
Ross High head teacher Paul Reynolds believes the workshops will be vital in helping his pupils to develop their own character in positive and inclusive ways. He added: “These workshops will support the school’s work in tackling racism and help further to embed our values of Respect, Integrity, Perseverance and Positivity.”