Changes in brain structure, function, and cognitive abilities due to long-term soccer heading.
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: In a semi-structured interview, soccer players will be asked about demographics, health and sport-specific information. This is followed by a symptom questionnaire regarding typical head and
Sponsors
Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie, und Psychosomatik (Uniklinik RWTH Aachen)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
Male
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Male competitive soccer, field hockey or volleyball players (professional or semi-professional) practicing their sport at least 10 hours per week for at least two years are included in the study. Due to the MRI examination, the athletes should be right-handed for better comparability. Very good German language skills are also required for the psychometric testing. The age of the control participants (fieldhockey and vollyball players) should be comparable to that of the soccer players.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Goalkeepers will be excluded from the study due to the infrequent headers performed. Athletes who have ever suffered a skull injury with impaired consciousness (concussion, commotio) will be excluded from participation in the study. The same applies to players who have ever been excluded from training or competition due to an injury to the head, neck or cervical vertebrae ("time-loss injury"), as well as players who regularly participate in other risk sports (in relation to impacts against the head) or contact sports. In addition, any traumatic brain injury (even mild) in the past three months is excluded, as well as any relevant traumatic brain injury (i.e., other than concussion) outside the main sport (soccer/field hockey/volleyball). The following procedures, diseases and injuries also lead to exclusion from the study: cranial surgery, neurological diseases (e.g. epilepsy, cerebral ischemia, hemorrhage), relevant mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder), harmful alcohol use or drug abuse according to DSM-V, as well as recent injuries (e.g. fractures). In addition, there must be no exclusion criteria for participation in an MRI study (e.g., metal or other implants in the body).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| -MRI: structural (T1, FLAIR, T2), diffusion and functional acquisitions. -Symptom questionnaire regarding typical head and neck injuries (Jordan, Green, Galanty, Mandelbaum, & Jabour, 1996). -Heading questionnaire (Einstein Heading Ques-tionnaire; Lipton et al., 2013). -Neck strength (Citec HDD Dynamometer CT3002/30; CIT Technics, Netherlands). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| -Demographic data: age, ethnicity, years of education, educational attainment, marital status, children, employment, income; - Health: medical history, current medication use, body height, body weight, assessment of current physical health, assessment of current mental health, special life events in the last months, family history of mental and dementia illnesses, traumatic brain injuries (also outside of sports), headaches, migraines, learning disabilities, injuries or accidents caused by sports; - Lifestyle: diet, smoking behavior (current and lifetime), alcohol and drug use (current and lifetime); - Sport-specific data (e.g., starting age, player position, player career, training data, start of professional career, time of last training and last competition, other (regularly played) sports). -Beck Depression Inventory II (Hautzinger, Keller, Kühner) -Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992) -Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (Patton, Stanford, & Barratt, 1995) -Trail Making Test A & B (Rodewald, Weisbrod, & Aschenbrenner, 2014) -Number Symbol Test (WAIS-IV; Petermann, 2012) -Spatial Supplementation (WMS-IV; Petermann & Lepach, 2012). | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactAnna Kwiatkowski
Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie, und Psychosomatik (Uniklinik RWTH Aachen)
Outcome results
None listed