Playing football might increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, new findings from the Boston University CTE Center suggest.
Using data from a large online survey sponsored by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, researchers found that participants who had a history of playing organized tackle football were 61% more likely to report a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis or parkinsonism, an umbrella term for symptoms like tremors and rigidity that cause movement problems, compared with those who played other organized sports.
The report, published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, also found that participants who played football at higher levels — professionally or in college — were nearly three times as likely to have Parkinson’s or parkinsonism compared with those who played at the youth or high school levels.
“This is one more piece of evidence adding to the growing amount of evidence that repetitive brain trauma has long-term consequences,” said neuroscientist Julie Stamm, a clinical assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, who was not involved in the study.
CNN
