Playing football can increase risk of Parkinson’s. Would you let your child play?
A recent study from Boston University and the Michael J. Fox Foundation have discovered a connection between football and Parkinson's disease.
Debates over the safety of football have gone on for decades. But a recent study reveals that playing America’s most popular sport could harm you for years to come.
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According to a recent study from Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center and the Michael J. Fox Foundation found a connection between playing football and having increased odds for developing Parkinson’s Disease. Specifically, they found that the odds of a participant in their study having a Parkinson’s diagnosis jumped to 61% with a history of playing organized tackle football.
The study was done using a large online data set who either have Parkinson’s disease or at risk of acquiring it. They looked into 1,875 people: 729 men who played football at least at the high school level, and 1,146 men who played a different sport. The researchers claim that it is the largest study ever in regards to “the association between participation in football and the odds for having a reported diagnosis of Parkinson’s.”
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that occurs when nerve cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die or become impaired, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. When this happens, the body’s dopamine levels begin to fall, leading to impaired balance, stiffness and slower movements. Around 500,000 Americans have Parkinson’s, although given that many go undiagnosed, many experts believe it to be closer to one million.
The idea behind studies like this one is that repeated head trauma can cause neurological disorders. It explains the long history of boxers developing Parkinson’s, most notably boxing legend Muhammad Ali, as well as the rise of CTE being found in the brains of late football players. But according to this study, football and Parkinson’s could be connected.
“We had this group of people at risk for Parkinson’s,” Michael L. Alosco, the study’s corresponding author, told The Brink. “If you throw in football, it further increases their risk.”
Of course, not everyone who plays tackle football will develop Parkinson’s. Other risk factors, including family history, can also contribute to Parkinson’s disease, making the exact reasons for the football-Parkinson’s connection somewhat murky at present.
“However, the reasons for this relationship are not clear,” Alosco said. “And we also know that not everyone who plays tackle football will develop later-life neurological conditions, meaning many other risk factors are at play.”
But the connection does exist, according to this study. Rachel Dolhun, senior vice president for medical communications at the Fox Foundation, says that knowing this connection is important for people so they can ensure their long-term neurological health and determine how playing football affects that.
“Knowing about this connection can give people, including younger adults, the power to make decisions and take steps to care for their brains as best as possible all throughout life,” Dolhun told The Brink.
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