SynthesisNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2022
A systematic review on the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and neurocognitive disorders in professional and varsity athletes.
Synthesis in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on the effects of hypercaloric diet in animal models of Alzheimer's disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Pooled it
- Associations Between Cumulative Head Trauma and Self-Reported Parkinsonism and Parkinson's Disease in Former Soccer Players.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2026Article
- Neurodegenerative diseases and environmental risk factors: an overview of the available scientific evidence.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- Preventing Parkinson's disease in the context of movement disorders: a narrative review of current evidence and future directions.Neurological research and practice · 2026Review
- Towards effective interventions: scoping review on prevention and modifiable risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Article
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: State-of-the-science update and narrative review.The Clinical neuropsychologist · 2025Review
- Longitudinal Assessment of Selective Motor Dysfunction in Service Members With Combat-Related Mild TBI.Military medicine · 2025Article
- Interrogating the plasma proteome of repetitive head impact exposure and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2025Article
- Lifetime physical activity influences Parkinson's disease progression.Parkinsonism & related disorders · 2024Article
- Clinical implications of head trauma in frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2024Article
- The Effect of Intranasal Plus Transcranial Photobiomodulation on Neuromuscular Control in Individuals with Repetitive Head Acceleration Events.Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery · 2024Article
- The altered TBI fecal microbiome is stable and functionally distinct.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2024Article
- Kumanu Tāngata: the aftermatch study - protocol to examine the health outcomes of high-level male rugby union players using linked administrative data.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)-features and forensic considerations.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2023Article
- The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis exposome: recent advances and future directions.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2023Review
- Dementia in former amateur and professional contact sports participants: population-based cohort study, systematic review, and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2023Article
- Color-Coding Method Reveals Enhancement of Stereotypic Locomotion by Phenazepam in Rat Open Field Test.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Combining reinforcement learning and virtual reality in mild neurocognitive impairment: a new usability assessment on patients and caregivers.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe aim of this systematic review (SR) was to gather all available epidemiological evidence on former participation in any type of sport, at a professional and varsity level, as a potential risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) and neurocognitive disorders (NCDs).
designSystematic searches were performed on PubMed, the Cochrane databases, and the ISI Web of Knowledge databases. Included studies were assessed using the NOS checklist. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: All epidemiological studies reporting data on the possible association between a clinical diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/motor neuron disease (MND), dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Parkinson's disease (PD), chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at any stage and with any clinical pattern and the former participation in any types of sport at a varsity and professional level were included.
resultsData from the 17 included studies showed a higher frequency of NDs and NCDs in former soccer and American football players. Updating the previous SR confirmed a higher frequency of ALS/MND in former soccer players. Data reported a significantly higher risk of dementia/AD in former soccer players, and of MCI in former American football players. Results also showed a significantly higher risk of PD in former soccer and American football players, and a significantly higher risk of CTE in former boxers and American football players. This SR confirmed a higher risk of NDs and NCDs in former professional/varsity athletes. However, the pathological mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear, and further high-quality studies should be performed to clarify whether the association could be sport specific.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.