Tackle Football May Contribute to Parkinson Disease Risk

Playing tackle football is associated with higher odds of having a diagnosis of parkinsonism or Parkinson disease (PD), suggests a study published in JAMA Network Open.

“Among football players, odds of having a parkinsonism or PD diagnosis were greater with more seasons and higher level of football play,” wrote corresponding author Michael L. Alosco, PhD, an associate professor of neurology at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, and study coauthors. “The findings suggest that American football participation might be a risk factor for developing parkinsonism or PD.”

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Decades of research have described parkinsonism and PD in boxers, but research on any link with football is limited. For this investigation, researchers used a dataset from Fox Insight, a longitudinal online study of people with and without PD sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

The investigation included a convenience sample of participants enriched for having PD. Among 1875 men who participated in organized sports, 38.9% played American football, mostly at the amateur level.

Study participants with a history of playing organized football had 61% increased odds of having a reported parkinsonism or PD diagnosis, according to the study. Among participants who played football, men who played longer or at higher levels experienced even higher odds.

Age of first exposure to football was not linked with increased odds of having a reported parkinsonism or PD diagnosis, the study found.

“Playing tackle football could be a contributing risk factor to PD, particularly among people already at risk due to other factors (eg, family history),” Dr Alosco said. “However, the reasons for this relationship are not clear, 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.”

References

Bruce HJ, Tripodis Y, McClean M, et al. American football play and Parkinson disease among men. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(8):e2328644. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.28644

Playing football may increase the risk for Parkinson’s disease. News release. Boston University School of Medicine; August 11, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023.

This article was previously published in Annals of Long-Term Care.