Prominent Rugby Stars Struggling with Dementia
Rugby and Dementia: A Growing Concern
A series of high-profile diagnoses have brought the potential link between rugby and dementia into the spotlight. Over the past few years, several former rugby union players have been diagnosed with various forms of dementia, including Sir Gareth Edwards, John Fogarty, Doddie Weir, Steve Thompson, Ali Williams, Jean-Pierre Rives, and Peter Corcoran. Rodger Arneil and John Pullin are among the others who have also been diagnosed with early-onset dementia.
The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) and the University of Edinburgh conducted a study that found that for every 1,000 male rugby players, there were an additional 17 cases of dementia compared to the general population. This research, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry in 2021, highlights the significantly higher risk of developing dementia for former rugby players.
In response to these concerns, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in England launched the Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance and Management System (PRISM) in 2020 to monitor the long-term health of retired rugby players. The RFU has also commissioned a study into the long-term health risks of playing rugby, including the potential links between head impacts and dementia.
The study by the University of Glasgow, published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica in 2019, found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of six out of eight former rugby players who had dementia. CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts. Steve Thompson was among those diagnosed with probable CTE in November 2020.
The concern over the connection between rugby and brain injury extends beyond the UK. Former Canadian rugby union player Rodger Arneil was diagnosed with early-onset dementia in 2021. All the mentioned players have become advocates for research into the links between rugby and brain injury.
The organization that commissioned the study in England to investigate the long-term health risks of rugby, especially the connection between head impacts and dementia, is not explicitly named in the provided search results. However, it is known that medical professionals and former rugby players have highlighted this issue, and multiple rugby governing bodies in the UK have been involved in related legal actions and health discussions.
In addition to advocating for better player welfare, many of the affected players and their families have become advocates for education around head injuries in rugby. John Pullin, the former English rugby union player, was diagnosed with dementia in 2016 and passed away in 2021, with his family becoming advocates for better awareness and education around head injuries in rugby.
A 2017 study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry found that rugby players who had experienced concussions were more likely to have abnormal brain structures and perform worse on memory tests than players who had not experienced concussions. These findings underscore the need for continued research and education around head injuries in rugby.
As the evidence mounts, it is clear that rugby players face a higher risk of developing dementia than the general population. The rugby community, including players, families, and governing bodies, must continue to work together to address this issue and ensure the long-term health and well-being of all those involved in the sport.
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