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22 October 2019If the frequency of non-neurological diseases is lower than the rest of the population, for professional footballers mortality due to neurodegenerative diseases and the risk of dementia is greater.

A study carried out on over seven thousand former Scottish professional footballers, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and reported in Quotidiano Sanità, notes this. The risk derives not from the strong blows taken to the head, but from the total account of the accumulated impacts in the career.

In the study, researchers coordinated by Daniel F. Mackay, of the University of Boston, compared former footballers with the general population on the causes of mortality and the use of anti-dementia drugs. The fact of a lower mortality from non-neurological causes therefore confirms the benefits of sport in the prevention of other diseases such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

On the other hand, mortality from neurodegenerative diseases, the risk would arise for professional footballers, as also found in football players in another study by the Centers for Diseases Control, from exposure to repeated head shots. A player hits the ball with his head on average 6-12 times per game, but much more in training, which means thousands of times over his career.

However, it would not be the strong blows but the 'count' of the repeated impacts received at the head, including those that do not give symptoms. However, researchers are keen to clarify that it is not possible to generalize these observed results in professional soccer players with those who practice this sport at an amateur or university level, and underline the importance and benefits of sport and exercise for health.