新奇事件簿 足球运动员患痴呆症的风险更高（在线收听）

Researchers from a university in the UK have found that playing soccer can damage the mental health of players. A team of experts from Glasgow University discovered that former professional football players are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than other people. The experts looked at whether or not heading a football could lead to brain damage. The research team looked into the deaths of 7,676 ex-soccer players who played in Scotland professionally between 1900 and 1976. The team compared the deaths of the former soccer players to the deaths of 23,000 people who did not regularly play football. They found that the football players suffered from a lot more brain injuries.

英国一所大学的研究人员发现踢足球会损害球员的心理健康。格拉斯哥大学的一个专家小组发现，前职业足球运动员死于痴呆症的可能性是其他人的3.5倍。专家们研究了头球是否会导致大脑损伤。研究团队调查了7676名在1900年至1976年间在苏格兰参加职业比赛的前足球运动员的死亡情况。该团队将前足球运动员的死亡情况与23,000名不经常踢足球的人的死亡情况进行了比较。他们发现足球运动员遭受了更多的脑损伤。

The research was requested by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association in the UK. The two associations made the request after the death of English football player Jeff Astle in 2002. Mr Astle's family was convinced he died as a result of playing football. Doctors said his cause of death was "repeated minor brain traumas". The doctors said this could happen with heading a soccer ball. Researcher Dr Willie Stewart said his research showed that former football players were more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, motor neurone disease and Parkinson's disease. He said they were less likely to die of common diseases, such as heart disease and lung cancer.

英国足球协会和职业球员协会要求进行该项研究。2002年英国足球运动员杰夫·阿斯特尔去世后，两家协会提出了这一要求。阿斯特尔先生的家人确信他死于踢足球。医生表示他的死因是“反复轻微脑损伤”。医生称这可能与头球有关。研究员Willie Stewart博士表示他的研究表明前足球运动员更有可能患上老年痴呆症、运动神经元疾病和帕金森氏症。他称他们死于心脏病和肺癌等常见疾病的可能性更小。