News & Events
Italian research shows link between professional football and MND
23 February 2005
Research published this week in the New Scientist suggests that professional footballers may have an increased risk of developing MND.
Medical records of 7,000 professional footballers in Italy showed that this devastating condition was five times more common among them than it was in the general population.
Five players in the study developed MND. Based on the normal incidence of the disease and the players′ages, researchers calculated that there should have been 0.8 cases.
The research was carried out by a team at the University of Turin, led by Prof Adriano Chio. Prof Chio first presented the results of this study at the MND Association′s International Symposium, held in Philadelphia, USA, in December 2004.
Dr Brian Dickie, Director of Research at the MND Association, said: "This study does appear to show an increased risk of Italian footballers developing MND, but we still don′t know what causes this link, or whether it would be reflected in other groups of footballers and sportspeople."
"There is some anecdotal evidence of a link between high levels of physical exercise and an increased risk of developing MND. However, much more research needs to be carried out before we can draw definite conclusions."
Medical records of 7,000 professional footballers in Italy showed that this devastating condition was five times more common among them than it was in the general population.
Five players in the study developed MND. Based on the normal incidence of the disease and the players′ages, researchers calculated that there should have been 0.8 cases.
The research was carried out by a team at the University of Turin, led by Prof Adriano Chio. Prof Chio first presented the results of this study at the MND Association′s International Symposium, held in Philadelphia, USA, in December 2004.
Dr Brian Dickie, Director of Research at the MND Association, said: "This study does appear to show an increased risk of Italian footballers developing MND, but we still don′t know what causes this link, or whether it would be reflected in other groups of footballers and sportspeople."
"There is some anecdotal evidence of a link between high levels of physical exercise and an increased risk of developing MND. However, much more research needs to be carried out before we can draw definite conclusions."
