title: A dose-response relation of headers and concussions with cognitive impairment in professional soccer players.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. erik.matser@st-anna.nl
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Matser
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kessels
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lezak
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Troost
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012916:Soccer / Q000293:injuries* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data