The new report from Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Health Policy Partnership says an international consortium of researchers and funders is needed to better understand the link.
“There are many limitations of existing research that make it difficult to compare data and draw overarching conclusions,” says the report, titled Dementia and Sport: Research Priorities for the Future.
“Studies are often not comparable because different methods and definitions are used for key measures. Methods of assessment and length of follow-up also vary significantly.
“An international research consortium could help coordinate research efforts and ensure consistent methods and definitions across different studies.”
The report also recommended setting up longer-term studies and broadening the focus of studies beyond elite male athletes to cover the risk factors to other groups, including children, adolescents and women.
Alzheimer’s Research UK will invest £500,000 (US$600,000) to develop the research priorities identified in the report.
TV presenter Hayley McQueen, whose father Gordon, a former Scotland and Manchester United defender, has vascular dementia, welcomed the report.
“As they witness firsthand the devastation that dementia wreaks on individuals, their families and friends, it is time for people to sit around the table and work toward greater understanding so we can act with confidence.” “, she said.
“It is also important that children, teens, opposite genders and people who participate in recreational sports are included in the research, as scientists have shown that they have different risk, injury and recovery patterns than adult male athletes.”
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