 Professor Willie Stewart of Glasgow University said: 'This latest work under our FIELD programme of research demonstrates that risk of neurodegenerative disease is not isolated to former footballers, but also a concern for former rugby players. 'The neurodegenerative condition is chronic traumatic encephalopathy and is found in a high proportion of brains of contact sport athletes. As such, this study provides further insight into the association between contact sports and neurodegenerative disease risk. 'Of particular concern is the data on motor neurone disease risk among our rugby players, which is even higher than that f){kind=link}
The Daily Mirror’s resident health expert Dr Miriam Stoppard examines the latest research on contact sports and brain injury and discovers worrying news for rugby stars
Back in 2015, I first wrote about brain damage in athletes playing contact sports being linked to the early onset of dementia and Parkinson’s, particularly in American footballers.
Then, in 2017, I followed up with the same brain disorders among football players, attributed to heading the old-fashioned, heavy type of ball.
The latest instalment from the same scientists at Glasgow University who studied the footballers shows former international rugby players aren’t exempt. They have an approximately two and a half times higher risk of brain disease, particularly motor neurone disease, than is normal.
The research compared health outcomes among 412 male, Scottish, former international rugby players matched to around 1,200 people from the general population.