Revealed: Dementia toll higher in former footballers
FORMER FOOTBALLERS are approximately three-and-a-half times more likely to die from neurodegenerative disease than the general population, according to a new study.
The report, released and commissioned by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association, assessed the medical records of 7,676 men who played professional football in Scotland between 1900 and 1976.
Their records were matched against more than 23,000 individuals from the general population, with the study led by consultant neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart of Glasgow University.
His findings report that the “risk ranged from a five-fold increase in Alzheimer’s disease, through an approximately fourfold increase in motor neurone disease, to a two-fold Parkinson’s disease in former professional footballers compared to population controls”.
Although footballers had higher risk of death from neurodegenerative disease, they were less likely to die of other common diseases, such as heart disease and some cancers, including lung cancer.
The study – titled Football’s Influence on Lifelong Health and Dementia Risk or FIELD for short – found that deaths in ex-footballers were lower than expected up to age 70, and higher than expected over that age.
Dr Stewart said: “An important aspect of this work has been the ability to look across a range of health outcomes in former professional footballers. This allows us to build a more complete picture of health in this population.
“Our data show that while former footballers had higher dementia rates, they had lower rates of death due to other major diseases.
“As such, whilst every effort must be made to identify the factors contributing to the increased
risk of neurodegenerative disease to allow this risk to be reduced, there are also wider potential health benefits of playing football to be considered.”
FA chairman Greg Clarke said: “The whole game must recognise that this is only the start of our understanding and there are many questions that still need to be answered.
“It is important that the global football family now unites to find the answers and provide a greater understanding of this complex issue. The FA is committed to doing all it can to make that happen.”
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said it was “incumbent on football globally to come together to address this issue in a comprehensive and united manner”.
It is not clear from the study what the exact causes of the increased rates of dementia are.
Huddersfield Town footballer Jimmy Glazzard, who played 299 league games for the club between 1946 and 1956, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died in 1995 at the age of 72.