Soccer (Football Association) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy: A short review and recommendation

Abstract

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was initially described in boxers, but in recent years it has been reported in other settings, particularly in contact sports and military personnel. Soccer (football association) had previously been (and still is) considered relatively safe when compared to other sports, such as American football. However, a few cases of professional soccer players with CTE have been reported in the last few years. It is still unknown how frequent this condition is in soccer players, and the role played by heading the ball remains elusive. Other traumas to the head, face and neck caused by contact with another player's head, arm or other body parts are among the most frequent in soccer. In spite of the lack of more in-depth knowledge, there is reasonable evidence for recommending severe punishment (red card and suspension for several matches) for players causing avoidable trauma to another player's head.

Goalkeepers Live Longer than Field Players: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis Based on World-Class Football Players

“…Repeated brain concussions caused by hitting the ball with the head, or during body collisions, often lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE could increase the risk of premature deaths, mainly due to dementia [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. With the abovementioned data in mind, it is worth noting that, unlike football players in field positions, goalkeepers are very rarely hit on the head by the ball.…”

American Football Play and Parkinson Disease Among Men

“…Among the football players, we investigated associations between level of football play and age at first exposure to football and odds of having a parkinsonism or PD diagnosis in separate models. As sensitivity analyses, models were repeated after excluding participants who endorsed having participated in boxing, soccer, or ice hockey . This was done to exclude participants in the reference group from having many years of repetitive head impacts from other high exposure to repetitive head impact contact sports.…”

“…As sensitivity analyses, models were repeated after excluding participants who endorsed having participated in boxing, soccer, or ice hockey. 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 51 This was done to exclude participants in the reference group from having many years of repetitive head impacts from other high exposure to repetitive head impact contact sports.…”

“…Exposure to repetitive head impact is the primary risk factor for the neurodegenerative tauopathy chronic traumatic encephalopathy . Chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been pathologically diagnosed in former football players, soccer, ice hockey, and rugby players . There is a dose-response association between duration of football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy risk .…”

“… 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 Chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been pathologically diagnosed in former football players, soccer, ice hockey, and rugby players. 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 There is a dose-response association between duration of football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy risk. 21 Age at first exposure to football has been shown to contribute to long-term neurobehavioral symptoms—but not chronic traumatic encephalopathy risk—in older symptomatic individuals.…”