Study finds no evidence high dementia risk among former professional soccer players is driven by lifestyle factors

A new study has found no evidence that common modifiable health and lifestyle risk factors are responsible for the elevated dementia risk observed among former professional soccer players.

Led by consultant neuropathologist Professor Willie Stewart, Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow, these latest findings from the FIELD study shed more light on the potential reasons why former professional soccer players experience higher risk of dementia compared with the general population.

The research, published in JAMA Network Open, draws on data from the electronic health records of 11,984 former professional soccer players and 35,952 matched population controls in Scotland. Researchers compared key dementia risk factors across the two groups, including smoking, depression, alcohol-related disorders, diabetes, hypertension, hearing loss and obesity.

Overall, the study team found that the rates of these general health and lifestyle dementia risk factors were typically similar—or lower—among former players, compared to their counterparts. Moreover, the contribution of these factors to dementia outcomes was notably lower in former players than in the general population.

This latest study builds on previous FIELD study research, which in 2019 demonstrated that former professional soccer players had a 3.5 times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease. Additional research in 2021 showed a direct association between career length and dementia risk, with the risk of neurodegenerative disease increasing up to fivefold for those with the longest careers.

Professor Stewart said, “Our latest results suggest the relationship between higher rates of neurodegenerative disease among former professional soccer players is not driven by those wider general health and lifestyle factors, widely recognized as dementia risk factors.

“As such, while interventions to address general health and lifestyle risk factors should remain recommended, the priority for neurodegenerative disease risk mitigation among contact sports athletes should continue to focus on the reduction, if not removal, of exposure to repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injury, wherever practical.”

This study underscores the need for ongoing efforts to reduce repetitive head impacts and improve head injury management in sports to mitigate dementia risk among athletes.