Researchers a university in the UK have found that playing soccer can damage the mental health players. A team experts from Glasgow University discovered that former professional football players are three and a half times more likely to die dementia than other people. The experts looked whether or not heading a football could lead to brain damage. The research team looked the deaths 7,676 ex-soccer players who played in Scotland professionally 1900 and 1976. The team compared the deaths of the former soccer players to the deaths 23,000 people who did not regularly play football. They found that the football players suffered a lot more brain injuries.
The research was requested the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association the UK. The two associations made the request the death English football player Jeff Astle 2002. Mr Astle's family was convinced he died as a result playing football. Doctors said his cause death was "repeated minor brain traumas". The doctors said this could happen heading a soccer ball. Researcher Dr Willie Stewart said his research showed that former football players were more likely to suffer Alzheimer's disease, motor neurone disease and Parkinson's disease. He said they were less likely to die common diseases, such as heart disease and lung cancer.
