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What percentage of football players get dementia?

Author

Daniel Moore

Published Jan 12, 2026

As a study by the University of Glasgow shows, 5 percent of former football players were diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, motor neuron or Parkinson disease.

What percentage of NFL players have dementia?

According to a 2014 report by the Analysis Research and Planning Corporation, about 14% of all former NFL players will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and another 14% will develop moderate dementia.

What percentage of footballers get dementia?

Over the follow-up period of the study, 5 per cent (386 out of 7,676) of the former football players were identified as having neurodegenerative disease, compared to 1.6 per cent (366 out of 23,028) in the control group.

Is dementia more common in footballers?

It has been revealed in a study by researchers at the University of Glasgow that there is a strong link between football and dementia, finding that ex-professional football players are 3.5 times more likely to develop dementia than the general public.

How many footballers have got dementia?

A total of 386 of 7,676 former professional footballer developed a neurodegenerative disease. Whereas 366 of the 23,038 non-players developed the diseases.

30 related questions found

Why do footballers get dementia more?

There might be some as-yet undiscovered reason why footballers are more at risk of Alzheimer's disease, unconnected to heading the ball. However, repeated head trauma is linked to brain damage, so head injury in football is certainly a good place for researchers to start looking.

Which footballer has dementia?

The 81-year-old says he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and vascular dementia but he is "determined to continue watching my club, Manchester United at Old Trafford". Manchester United and Scotland footballer Denis Law has revealed he has been diagnosed with dementia.

Do athletes get dementia?

The results suggest that older athletes have a lower risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, according to Tseng.

Do football players get Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's was 4 times higher among players; 7 players died with Alzheimer's • compared to fewer than 2 men in the U.S.

Can playing football cause dementia?

"We have known for a long time that repeated blows to the head, such as those suffered by boxers, can make people more susceptible to degenerative neurological conditions such as dementia. What we're now seeing is clear evidence that heading footballs can also significantly increase those risk factors.

How many ex professional footballers have dementia?

As a study by the University of Glasgow shows, 5 percent of former football players were diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, motor neuron or Parkinson disease.

Do football players get brain damage?

Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist whose research first linked football with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease that leads to memory loss, erratic behavior, and depression. One study found CTE in 110 of 111 deceased NFL.

What percent of football players have CTE?

Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Boston University School of Medicine, studied the brains of 202 American football players. Through autopsies, she and her colleagues found that, of the 111 brains belonging to players in the National Football League, 110 of them showed CTE — more than 99 percent.

What happens to football players brains?

One recent study found signs of the debilitating disease in 110 of 111 NFL players whose brains were inspected. The degenerative disease known as CTE is linked to head trauma and concussions that has been shown to cause a range of symptoms, including violent mood swings and memory loss.

Do athletes develop Alzheimer's?

Exercising in later life

In a study of 716 people with an average age of 82 years, people who were in the bottom 10 per cent in terms of amount of daily physical activity were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as those in the top 10 per cent.

Can heading a ball cause dementia?

Confirmation in 2014 that former England footballer Jeff Astle died as a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (a form of dementia) — and that it was caused by regularly heading the ball — ignited a furore on the risks of this practice in particular.

Can exercise reverse dementia?

“Exercise is not going to cure Alzheimer's or dementia, but it anatomically strengthens two of the key targets of both those diseases,” Suzuki says. Mentally, three of the biggest benefits are better mood, memory, and attention.

Does running Prevent dementia?

It also appears that regular physical activity benefits the brain. Studies show that people who are physically active are less likely to experience a decline in their mental function and have a lowered risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Physical activity is one of the known modifiable risk factors for dementia.

Is it too late to prevent Alzheimer's?

New research from across the country is suggesting that our diet and exercise patterns can significantly delay or prevent the onset of the most common type of dementia, Alzheimer's disease. Even if you are in your 50's, it's not too late to act on these surprising findings. In fact, it might be the perfect time.

Do all football players suffer from CTE?

It is a progressive disease, and the symptoms can arise long after the hits to the head have ceased. Although the condition has come to be most often associated with football players, C.T.E. has been found in the brains of boxers, hockey players, soccer players, a bobsledder, and other athletes.

What is the life expectancy of a person with CTE?

Some researchers believe the severity of the disease might correlate with the length of time a person spend participating in the sport. Unfortunately, a 2009 analysis of 51 people who experience CTE found the average lifespan of those with the disease is just 51 years.

What is the life expectancy of an NFL player?

The average life expectancy or lifespan of an American football NFL player has been reported to be extremely low, only 53 to 59 years depending on playing position. However, a 2012 study reported that retired NFL players have a lower death rate than men in the general population.

What do football players suffer from?

C.T.E. is a progressive disease, meaning that it gets worse over time which is to say long after an individual's playing days are over. While it is becoming increasingly common amongst NFL players, it has been observed in the brains of boxers, ice hockey players, soccer players and even a bobsledder.

Why should football be banned?

Reasons are shown through different points of argument. Football causes continuous concussions, causes long term medical problems and causes different types of trauma to their body and affects their overall health. High School Football should be banned because of the Physical and Mental Damage It Causes to Athletes.

How many people get brain injuries from football?

Football injuries associated with the brain occur at the rate of one in every 5.5 games. In any given season, 10% of all college players and 20% of all high school players sustain brain injuries. 87% of professional boxers have sustained a brain injury.