Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb;24(2):147-155.
doi: 10.1017/S1355617717000790. Epub 2017 Aug 22.

Recent and Long-Term Soccer Heading Exposure Is Differentially Associated With Neuropsychological Function in Amateur Players

Cara F Levitch  1 , Molly E Zimmerman  1 , Naomi Lubin  2 , Namhee Kim  2 , Richard B Lipton  3 , Walter F Stewart  4 , Mimi Kim  5 , Michael L Lipton  2
Affiliations

Recent and Long-Term Soccer Heading Exposure Is Differentially Associated With Neuropsychological Function in Amateur Players

Cara F Levitch et al. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: The present study examined the relative contribution of recent or long-term heading to neuropsychological function in amateur adult soccer players.

Participants and methods: Soccer players completed a baseline questionnaire (HeadCount-12m) to ascertain heading during the prior 12 months (long-term heading, LTH) and an online questionnaire (HeadCount-2w) every 3 months to ascertain heading during the prior 2 weeks (recent heading, RH). Cogstate, a battery of six neuropsychological tests, was administered to assess neuropsychological function. Generalized estimating equations were used to test if LTH or RH was associated with neuropsychological function while accounting for the role of recognized concussion.

Results: A total of 311 soccer players completed 630 HeadCount-2w. Participants had an average age of 26 years. Participants headed the ball a median of 611 times/year (mean=1,384.03) and 9.50 times/2 weeks (mean=34.17). High levels of RH were significantly associated with reduced performance on a task of psychomotor speed (p=.02), while high levels of LTH were significantly associated with poorer performance on tasks of verbal learning (p=.03) and verbal memory (p=.04). Significantly better attention (p=.02) was detectable at moderately high levels of RH, but not at the highest level of RH. One hundred and seven (34.4%) participants reported a lifetime history of concussion, but this was not related to neuropsychological function and did not modify the association of RH or LTH with neuropsychological function.

Conclusion: High levels of both RH and LTH were associated with poorer neuropsychological function, but on different domains. The clinical manifestations following repetitive exposure to heading could change with chronicity of exposure. (JINS, 2018, 24, 147-155).

Keywords: Brain injury; Cognitive impairment; Heading; Repetitive head trauma; Soccer; Sport.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adams J, Adler CM, Jarvis K, DelBello MP, & Strakowski SM (2007). Evidence of anterior temporal atrophy in college-level soccer players. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 17(4), 304–306. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e31803202c8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Belanger HG, & Vanderploeg RD (2005). The neuropsychological impact of sports-related concussion: A meta-analysis. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 11(4), 345–357. - PubMed
    1. Benjamini Y, & Hochberg Y (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: A practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological), 57(1), 289–300. doi: 10.2307/2346101 - DOI
    1. Catenaccio E, Caccese J, Wakschlag N, Fleysher R, Kim N, Kim M, … Kaminski T (2016). Validation and calibration of HeadCount, a self-report measure for quantifying heading exposure in soccer players. Research in Sports Medicine, 24, 416–425. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Comstock RD, Currie DW, Pierpoint LA, Grubenhoff JA, & Fields SK (2015). An evidence-based discussion of heading the ball and concussions in high school soccer. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(9), 830–837. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.1062 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types