Open AccessPreliminary study on the number of deaths from neurodegenerative diseases in former Brazilian soccer players.
Author(s) -
Lais de Paiva Xavier,
Gabriella de Andrade Moreira,
Luana Maria Amaral Cherain,
Lucas Ferreira Flávio Souza,
Tânia Maria da Silva Novaretti,
Valdeci de Oliveira Santos Rigolin
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.5327/1516-3180.212
Subject(s) - medicine , disease , stroke (engine) , cause of death , population , myocardial infarction , athletes , retrospective cohort study , physical therapy , environmental health , mechanical engineering , engineering
Background: Neurodegenerative diseases have been reported in contact sports athletes. However, soccer has not been well characterized. Concerns were raised about the risk of neurodegenerative diseases being related to professional players in this sport. Objectives: To compare mortality from neurodegenerative diseases among Brazilian soccer players with the general population of the country. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study. Causes of death were obtained from Brazilian teams’ databases and online content/public domain. Results: Among 1331 soccer players, 400 died. Acute Myocardial Infarction and Neoplasms were the highest causes of death, 58 and 53, respectively. We obtained a total of 35 deaths caused by neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer’s disease (18 deaths) and Stroke (14 deaths) were the most prevalent causes. These results are similar to the causes most found in the general population of Brazil: ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, airway infections and Alzheimer’s, in that order. This research had the following aspects as a limitation: the sources used were laymen, so the causes of death were not presented in a technical way in some moments; furthermore, the sampling space, still reduced, presented itself as another limitation. Conclusion: Preliminary results showed no correlation between soccer in Brazil and the higher occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases. The data sources and the sample space that were used may have contributed to such conclusions. These observations need to be confirmed on a larger scale with the prolongation of the study.