The benefits of exercise outweighed the risks due to associated head injuries
We know from past research that suffering a brain injury in youth can increase the risk of cognitive problems later in life. However, in a recent large study, medical researchers found no such link in people who had suffered a concussion while playing recreational sports. Moreover, it turned out that this kind of physical activity may have a “protective” effect on the brain.
An international group of scientists from Australia, the UK and the US shared their unexpected findings in an article published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
The authors called their work the largest study on the long-term cognitive effects of sports-related concussions. Specialists reviewed data from more than 15,000 people from 50 to 90 years old - participants in the British PROTECT project, dedicated to the study of brain aging and cognitive impairment in old age.
As part of the study, volunteers performed a series of tests on cognitive functions - memory, attention, logical thinking and so on. They also collected data on brain injuries throughout their lives using the Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire. Over six thousand people reported at least one concussion, and 510 had moderate to severe concussions.
The researchers compared the cognitive function of participants who had not had a concussion in their lifetime, who had suffered one or more concussions in connection with sports, or who had sustained them in other circumstances, such as an accident, car accident, assault, and so on.
The results showed that people in the group with sports-related concussions scored higher on working memory tests than participants without such injuries. The former also had better logical thinking skills.
In addition, those who suffered a single concussion while playing sports scored higher on verbal reasoning and attention tasks than those without such traumatic experiences.
In contrast, participants with multiple non-sports-related concussions showed reduced information processing speed and attention, as well as worsening verbal reasoning as they aged.
According to the researchers, their findings suggest that the benefits of recreational sports for long-term cognitive health outweigh the harms of potential injuries, even when concussions are involved. However, experts emphasized that these findings do not apply to professional athletes, whose head injuries tend to be more frequent and more severe.
Earlier, scientists from the United States warned that repeated blows to the head when playing American soccer can seriously increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, and even in amateurs. In another, twin study, it was found that even if a person suffered a concussion in youth and seemed to have recovered fully from it, the presence of such an injury increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in old age.