Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35355246›Full record

ArticleActa neurologica Scandinavica2022

Sports and trauma as risk factors for Motor Neurone Disease: New Zealand case-control study.

Grace Xia Chen, Jeroen Douwes, Leonard H van den Berg, Bill Glass, David McLean, Andrea Martine 't Mannetje

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Acta neurologica Scandinavica, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Neurodegenerative Disease and Association Football (NDAF): Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Neurodegenerative disease risk among former international rugby union players.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2022
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Grace Xia ChenResearch Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0957-1761
Jeroen Douwes
Leonard H van den BergBrain Centre Rudolf Magnus, Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Bill Glass
David McLeanResearch Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
Andrea Martine 't Mannetje

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo assess whether sports, physical trauma and emotional trauma are associated with motor neurone disease (MND) in a New Zealand case-control study (2013-2016).

methodsIn total, 321 MND cases and 605 population controls were interviewed collecting information on lifetime histories of playing sports, physical trauma (head injury with concussion, spine injury) and emotional trauma (14 categories). ORs were estimated using logistic regression adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, smoking status, alcohol consumption and mutually adjusting for all other exposures.

resultsHead injury with concussion ≥3 years before diagnosis was associated with MND (OR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.09-2.09), with strongest associations for two (OR 4.01, 95% CI: 1.82-8.86), and three or more (OR 2.34, 95% CI: 1.00-5.45) head injuries. Spine injury was not associated with MND (OR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.48-1.36). Compared to never playing sports, engaging in sports throughout childhood and adulthood increased MND risk (OR 1.81, 95% CI: 1.01-3.25), as was more than 12 years playing football/soccer (OR 2.35, 95% CI: 1.19-4.65). Reporting emotionally traumatic events in more than three categories was associated with MND (OR 1.88, 95% CI: 1.17-3.03), with physical childhood abuse the only specific emotional trauma associated with MND (OR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.14-2.90), particularly for those reporting longer abuse duration (OR

conclusionsThis study adds to the evidence that repeated head injury with concussion, playing sports in general, and playing football (soccer) in particular, are associated with an increased risk of MND. Emotional trauma, that is physical abuse in childhood, may also play a role.

Indexed as

Athletic InjuriesBrain ConcussionCraniocerebral TraumaMotor Neuron DiseaseAdultCase-Control StudiesChildFemaleHumansNew ZealandRisk FactorsALSemotional traumahead injuryneurodegenerative disordersneuroepidemiology

Identifiers

PMID35355246
PMCPMC9321578

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.