Former England international rugby players are set to be recruited for the next phase of a major-scientific study examining the possible long-term effects of the game on brain health.
The Rugby Football Union, together with leading academics from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, The Institute of Occupational Medicine, University College London and Oxford University will study the possible link between a history of concussion and neurodegenerative disease in former rugby players. The Drake Foundation has committed over £450,000 to funding this research.
The project aims to provide a greater amount of information on the potential medium and long-term neurocognitive risks of playing rugby than is currently available from other studies.
It also shows rugby continues to provide a leading and proactive role in this important medical and player welfare area.
"The RFU has worked extremely hard to increase the education of those involved in the game about concussion and to improve the management of the risk of the injury based on the evidence available," said RFU Chief Medical Officer Simon Kemp.
NEUROLOGICAL HEALTH
This will follow on from a study conducted in the past 18 months by researchers from the Oxford Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis, which included a survey of approximately 300 former England players as well as Oxford and Cambridge University players. Detailed information was collected on their playing history, past injuries including concussions sustained during their career, and their current musculoskeletal and general health.
This new study is designed to assess the potential association between a history of concussion and general and neurological health. It will involve approximately 200 participants over 50 who participated in the previous study.
"The next step for us a union and as a sport is progress beyond delivering ‘recognise, remove, recover and return’ and try to understand more about the possible longer-term effects on the health of the brain.," added Kemp.
The more in-depth research will gather additional data on the retired players’ quality of life and social circumstances, with an extensive set of tests capturing physical and cognitive capabilities and a neurological clinical examination. There will also be face-to-face assessments as well as blood and urine samples taken for future analysis.
The same tests and procedures will be used in a separate ongoing 1946 Birth Cohort Study which will provide a general population comparison.
EVIDENCE BASE
Evidence is accumulating on the possible increased risks of neurodegenerative diseases including Dementia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Dementia and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in former contact sport athletes.
Different sports expose players to different types of injuries and while several studies have suggested an increased risk of various neurological disorders, this has not yet been established.
This new study represents an opportunity to provide an evidence-based, high-quality study of a large group of former rugby players.
Professor Neil Pearce, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who will lead the study said: “Evidence is accumulating on the possible long-term health risks in former contact sport athletes. However, each sport is different and there is currently little evidence from rugby players.
"This study will start to fill this gap, and will allow us to assess whether there are long-term health problems and what their causes may be."
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