“It is also surprising that there were no cases reported in the larger control group, as MND is the most common neurodegenerative disease of mid-life and the study population appears to include people in the ‘high-risk’ age range of 50 to 80 years.
“What is clear is that this research need to be extended into much larger populations, which will require close collaboration between researchers and rugby representative bodies across multiple countries.” During the monitoring period, 121 of the former rugby players and 381 of the comparison group died. Former rugby players were older when they died, reaching an average of nearly 79 compared with just over 76 in the comparison group.
Independent scientists said the findings highlighted the need for greater investment in dementia research – including by sports governing bodies – to expand programmes like one at Imperial College London investigating lifelong determinants of brain health, including traumatic brain injury.