A dose-response relation of headers and concussions with cognitive impairment in professional soccer players

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of headers and concussions on cognitive impairment in professional soccer players. A group of 84 active professional soccer players from several premier league soccer clubs underwent neuropsychological evaluations. The dose-response relation between the number of headers in one professional season and the number of soccer-related concussions on cognitive functioning was investigated. It was found that the number of headers in one season was related to poorer results on tests measuring focused attention and visual / verbal memory. Soccer-related concussions were related to poorer results on tests measuring sustained attention and visuoperceptual processing. The findings suggest that headers as well as concussions separately contribute to cognitive impairment.