Study Reveals Symptoms of Depression and Brain Changes in Former Footballers

JAKARTA - The initial results of a study of 142 former professional footballers found higher symptoms of depression and anxiety than the control group. Scans also showed changes in brain structure in some former players.

Euronews in a report quoted on Wednesday, July 15, said the study was conducted by a team from Imperial College London and was presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference or AAIC 2026.

Almost a third of the former players surveyed had symptoms severe enough to reach the threshold of clinical depression. In the comparison group, the figure was only 9 percent.

Differences were also seen in anxiety. As many as 42 percent of former players reached the threshold of anxiety symptoms, while in the non-player group the figure was 25 percent.

"Although there was no clear difference in standard cognitive tests, we saw large differences in participants' reported symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, as well as in brain imaging results," said the study's lead author, Caleigh Grace Lynch.

Cognitive tests are used to measure abilities such as memory, attention, and problem-solving.

The research involved former players aged 30 to 60. They consisted of 126 men who had played for at least three years as full-time professional players and 16 women from the top two divisions of English women's football.

The results were compared with 56 healthy people of a similar age who had no history of contact sports, military service, head injury, or neurological disorders.

Former players reported more difficulties in planning, concentrating, solving problems, and carrying out daily activities.

However, the difference only emerged from the experiences they reported themselves. Direct tests of memory and thinking ability found no clear differences between the two groups.

Euronews also noted that MRI scans found differences in brain structure in some former players, including signs of reduced brain volume.

MRI is a scan that uses a magnetic field to see the brain's structure in detail.

However, the researchers have not concluded that the changes are definitely caused by head impacts during football. Further research is still needed to determine whether symptoms and changes in brain volume are related to nerve tissue damage due to repeated trauma.

According to Lynch, measurable changes in brain health may already be visible when former players are in their mid-60s, long before conditions such as dementia usually emerge.

Soccer still benefits as a physical activity. However, players can experience repeated head impacts when heading the ball, colliding with opponents, or hitting the field surface.

"By following participants over time, we hope to understand how repeated head impacts affect brain health in the long term. This research will also help find ways to reduce potential risks in sports," said Thomas Parke of the UK Dementia Research Institute.