My grandchild, Amanda, consistently tells me that “stupid” is a very bad word and it should never be used. However over a lifetime of doing very stupid things myself and watching others being equally stupid, I have become rather enamoured of the concept that we humans are often stupid. On a more serious note, this column is considering whether playing football  ( both American football and soccer) leads to intellectual impairment.I will explore whether this occurs in the short term and, more importantly, whether it increases the chance of developing dementia as we age. 

I was first introduced to this concept when at a meeting in Amsterdam, the trainers of the Chelsea football (soccer) club pointed out that when a professional soccer player heads the ball, they immediately check his mental status and if it is mildly impaired,replace him with a reserve.They have found that the substitute will perform better than their best player when he is mildly concussed. In a study of elite soccer players playing for Tippeligaen in Norway, it was found that the next day after a head injury, they had a decrease in their reaction time.Players who had even one head injury during the season showed impairment on psychological tests at the start of the next season.

Females playing college soccer in Canada who had a head injury were studied half a year later. They were found to have a  slower  ability to make decisions and to undertake planning tasks.  An English study found that the number of times a University soccer player headed ball predicted the number of errors made on a simple sorting task.

A study at the University of North Carolina, reported that nearly a quarter of retired professional football players (American football)  reported that they had had 3 or more concussions. Retired players who sustained 3 or more concussions were three times as likely to have memory problems and  5 times more likey to be diagnosed with mild congitive impairment. Persons with mild cognitive impairment are more likely to develop dementia as they age.

As long ago as 1928, the medical profession recognized that boxing could result in severe confusion associated with tremors, speech problems and slowed walking. This was called dementia pugilistica or “punch drunk” syndrome. This condition has some similarities to Alzheimer’s disease with  the development of neurofibrilary tangles. Amyloid deposition is less commen. There is marked loss of brain cells. This condition is now called chronic traumatic encephalopathy. There have been  6 confirmed cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in football players, with the latest case being  Tom McHale,t he former Tampa Bay Buccaneer , who died in 2008 at age 45. An 18 year old boy who had multiple concussions  playing football has also been diagnosed with this condition.

The BOTTOM LINE: Head injuries are very common in football, soccer and ice hockey. Anyone sustaining a concussion should undergo careful testing of reaction time and memory before being allowed to continue playing. Persons playing regularly should have yearly neuropsychological testing.  A person with 2 or more major concussions should strongly be advised to stop playing. So yes, football (of both kinds) can cause intellectual impairment (stupidity) and possibly result in the person developing premature dementa.