07.10.2024 10:47
Research projects
How does repeated physical exertion in a professional football career affect health? NAKO researchers aim to get to the bottom of this question based on the health data of 348 former professional soccer players in Germany. In the journal BMJ Sport and Exercise Medicine, the scientists provide an overview of the SoccHealth Study. The scientific findings about the development and prevalence of diseases in this particular group are to be used to evaluate the health benefits and drawbacks of long-term professional activity as a sportsman or sportsperson.
The SoccHealth Study is a satellite project of the German National Organization (NAKO), Germany’s largest population study of major chronic diseases, and focuses on the long-term health of professional soccer players. The aim is to describe and investigate football-specific patterns of a broad spectrum of diseases including cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal and neurological disorders in former professional football players. This soccer part (SoccHealth) of the German National Association (NAKO) is funded by Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB, German Football Association), Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL, German Football League) , Verwaltungsberufsgenossenschaft (VBG, Employers’ Liability Insurance Association) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and led by Prof. Dr. Klaus Berger (University of Münster) and Prof. Dr. Tim Meyer (University of Saarland). Their current publication describes the procedure for recruiting and studying 348 professional soccer players. The data obtained now form the basis for addressing research questions.
Between the ages of 40 and 69, the ex-professionals participated in medical examinations and studies of their health and health-related behavior at 18 NAKO study centers starting in the spring of 2021. Various biosamples were collected from all participants; 222 professional soccer players also underwent a full-body MRI scan. Football-related information such as the number of games played during the career, the playing positions and the level of play enable an estimate of the accumulated physical load over a ‘ entire sports career. The tests of the 52 women and 296 men were completed in the autumn of 2023.
“The data from the SoccHealth Survey is unique in its range and depth of detail. As part of the German National Organization (NAKO), the measurements of the best former players can be compared to a large database from the general population. This contributes greatly to the quality and relevance of the current scientific analyses, says Prof. Henry Völzke, Chairman of the Board of NAKO eV.
The average age of male players is 54.5 years and 46.9 years for women. Defender was the most common playing position for male ex-professionals, followed by midfielder, while back was found for women. Both sexes have 32 years of football training and playing games in amateur and professional leagues. On average, men ended their professional careers at age 33, compared to 34 for women.
“The occupational data shows that the level of football played by SoccHealth participants was high and that there was no significant difference between men and women. As expected, the rate of injury-related interruptions of more than a month during a career was also very high for both sexes. Former female professionals had a higher average number of seasons in the first Bundesliga, but a lower number in the second Bundesliga, which is likely due to the different times at which the leagues were created. -in,” investigates Prof. Dr. Tim Meyer, Chair of Sports and Preventive Medicine at Saarland University and for several years the team physician of the German men’s national team.
In addition to the analysis of bio-markers and images, the self-reported information on weight progression and lifestyle factors such as smoking behavior will provide important information for prevention research.
“Various studies in recent years have focused on the health of professional soccer players. These have mostly been limited to brain health and the possible effects of playing football. The comprehensive medical examinations and surveys of the participants within the SoccHealth Study are particularly suitable for research and will answer questions about the development, prevalence and causes of a wide range of major chronic diseases such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes or lipometabolic disorders in professional football players,’ says Dr Klaus Berger, a scientist at the University of Münster.
“The VBG insures professional sports. We support studies aimed at reducing the consequences of accidents or preventing accidents. Head injuries and other impacts related to football can have serious consequences, which is why we are very interested in the results of this study,” says Norbert Moser, Prevention Area Coordinator for Sports at VBG Employers Liability Insurance Association.
Scientific correspondent:
Dr. Dr. Claus Berger
Director of the Institute for Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Münster
Prof. Dr. Tim Meyer
Medical Director of the Institute for Sports and Preventive Medicine
Original publication:
Berger K, Baurecht H, Stein M, et al. SoccHealth: a health status study of former professional soccer (soccer) players within the German National Team. BMJ Open Sports and Exercise Medicine 2024; 10: e002228. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002228
More information:
https://nako.de/en/?p=35082&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=35085
2024-10-07 18:24:07
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