LONDON, July 12 - A new study offers a nuanced view of brain health in former athletes. Researchers at Imperial College London found that retired British professional soccer players show structural brain differences and high rates of anxiety and depression, but no signs of cognitive decline.
The study, presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, included 142 former players aged 30 to 60. It compared them to a control group of 56 healthy individuals with no history of contact sports.
Scientists used MRI brain scans and cognitive tests to assess the players. The findings showed that, after adjusting for age and education, the former athletes scored as well as the control group on memory and thinking tests.
However, the athletes reported significantly higher rates of mental health struggles. Thirty-one percent met the threshold for clinical depression, compared to nine percent of the control group. Forty-two percent reported clinical anxiety, versus twenty-five percent in the control group.
Brain scans revealed the former players had less tissue in areas controlling memory and emotion as a group. Yet, only two percent showed severe brain shrinkage linked to progressive neurodegeneration.
This research is part of a major push to treat repetitive head impacts as a modifiable risk factor for dementia. The field is taking a more holistic view of brain health and dementia risk.
The study did not establish a direct link to Alzheimer's disease. It lays the groundwork for a long-term study, with researchers planning to monitor these players every two years. The findings cannot yet predict individual dementia risk, as the field is at a very early stage of translating these findings to individual prediction.