Rugby players are 15 times more likely to face fatal brain diseases like dementia. This is the conclusion reached by scientists from the University of Glasgow.
The study demonstrated that the game of rugby is a deadly sport. Such athletes are 15 times more likely to develop incurable neurological disorders. Former International Rugby Union players from Scotland have come to the attention of scientists. They were more than twice as likely to encounter senile dementia and 15 (!) times more likely to become a victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – one of the most terrible neurodegenerative diseases that kill their victims within a few years.
Retired rugby players were also about three times more likely to acquire Parkinson’s disease. Scientists have conducted the largest analysis of the health of professional rugby players in history. And the results have already been called a quiet sports scandal, which should lead to serious upheavals in professional sports.
According to researchers, the reason that rugby players are more likely to suffer from severe brain diseases is repeated blows to the head during sports matches, but not traumatic brain injuries like concussions. The authors of the study fear that the current rules of rugby will only worsen this problem, and it is already necessary to review the number of games per season and ban contact training.