• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Creatine
      • AG1 Review
    • Equipment
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Learn

Pro Football Players Have 4-Times Greater Risk of ALS and Alzheimer’s

Even more research that football is bad for your brain health. Researchers examined death certificates of NFL players and looked at the incidence of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS.

Joshua Wortman

Written by Joshua Wortman Last updated on September 11, 2012

According to a new study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati, Ohio, professional football players are much more likely to die from Alzheimer’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and other conditions caused by brain cell damage. The research for this study included data from 3,439 ex-professional football players. The study included players who had played at least five seasons from 1959 to 1988 for the National Football League (NFL). Researchers searched death certificates looking for those who expired due to ALS, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.1

The results of the study revealed professional football players had triple the risk of death caused by diseases that destroy or damage brain cells compared to other people. It was also discovered that professional football players had a four times greater risk of dying from ALS or Alzheimer’s disease, and had about the same risk of death from Parkinson’s disease as the rest of the general population.2

Ever J. Lehman, MS, led a team of researchers to determine whether or not positions of ex-football players had an impact on their risk of death from brain damaging diseases. They divided the players into a speed group and a non-speed group. The speed group included non-line positions such as fullbacks, running backs, quarterbacks, halfbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, defensive backs, safeties, and linebackers. The non-speed group included line positions such as defensive and offensive lineman. The team of researchers found speed-position players were over three times as likely to die from a neurodegenerative disease as non-speed position players. Neurodegenerative diseases include diseases with a progressive loss of function or structure of neurons, including their death. Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and ALS are all examples of neurodegenerative diseases.3

According to lead researcher Lehman:

These results are consistent with recent studies that suggest an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease among football players. Although our study looked at causes of death from Alzheimer’s disease and ALS as shown on death certificates, research now suggests that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) may have been the true primary or secondary factor in some of these deaths. A brain autopsy is necessary to diagnose CTE and distinguish it from Alzheimer’s or ALS. While CTE is a separate diagnosis, the symptoms are often similar to those found in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS, and can occur as the result of multiple concussions.4

The results of this study are not overly shocking considering both professional and amateur football players have a higher risk of sustaining head and/or brain injuries. Head and brain injuries have been considered by experts as major risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases and research to back this up continues to amass.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Joshua Wortman

About Joshua Wortman

Joshua began lifting in high school, but really doesn’t consider his effective training to have begun until the last few years. Joshua was always very strong for his bodyweight, but he didn’t just want to be strong, he wanted to look strong. At 140 pounds, no matter how strong he was for his age and weight, the size wasn’t there.

During his last year of college, Joshua began research on bodybuilding, and since his graduation, he has taken his bodybuilding to a whole new level. Josh experienced a minor setback in 2009 when he experienced an L5-L6 disc herniation while doing deadlifts. Consequently, his lower body training was very limited for almost a year. Thankfully, he has self-rehabbed his back to pretty much full strength.

Since he graduated from NC State University with his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering, Joshua has taken his bodybuilding to a whole new level. His knowledge has increased ten fold since when he began, and both his knowledge anpersonal progress have also bred success in the fact he started up Get Right Get Tight Fitness.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

maryannberry
Posture Intervention: Healing After a Knee Injury
Opposites Distract: Stress Versus Fitness
Go Big: Be Your Own Coach
soyprotein
Unravelling the Urban Myths of Soy Protein

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Dorian Yates Explains the 2-Exercise Ab Routine That Fueled His Mr. Olympia Dynasty

lelja Strik (84KG) Bench Presses 132.5 Kilograms (292.1 Pounds) for Raw Masters IPF World Record

Low-Bar vs. High-Bar Squats: What’s the Best Lower-Body Builder for You?

Chris Bumstead is Building His Own Private Gym

Latest Reviews

Breaking Muscle Best Protein Powder

17 Best Protein Powders for Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, and More

Athletic Greens AG1

Athletic Greens AG1 Review: Is This Greens Powder Worth It?

Best Adjustable Dumbbells

9 Best Adjustable Dumbbells for Home Gyms of 2023

Best Creatine

11 Best Creatine Supplements For Building Muscle, Cutting, and More

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About