Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study
Introduction Repetitive head impacts (RHI) in sports may represent a risk factor for long-term cognitive and neurological sequelae. Recent studies have identified an association between playing football at the top level and an elevated risk of cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative disease. Howe...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e092456.full |
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| author | Thor Einar Andersen Roald Bahr Emilie Isager Howe Peter Filipcik John Bjørneboe Geir Selbaek Sara Christina Dahlén Stian Kirkerud Sandmo Lena Bache-Mathisen Einar August Høgestøl Truls Straume-Næsheim Lars T Westlye |
| author_facet | Thor Einar Andersen Roald Bahr Emilie Isager Howe Peter Filipcik John Bjørneboe Geir Selbaek Sara Christina Dahlén Stian Kirkerud Sandmo Lena Bache-Mathisen Einar August Høgestøl Truls Straume-Næsheim Lars T Westlye |
| author_sort | Thor Einar Andersen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Repetitive head impacts (RHI) in sports may represent a risk factor for long-term cognitive and neurological sequelae. Recent studies have identified an association between playing football at the top level and an elevated risk of cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative disease. However, these were conducted on men, and there is a knowledge gap regarding these risks in female athletes. This study aims to investigate the effect of head impacts on brain health in female former top-level football players.Methods and analysis This is a prospective cohort study, enroling female former football players and top-level athletes from sports without an inherent risk of RHI. All participants are born in 1980 or earlier. We plan to perform follow-up assessments at least three times over 20 years.The protocol includes neurocognitive assessments, self-reported neurocognitive outcomes, neurological examination, advanced brain MRI, and fluid biomarkers.Ethics and dissemination The study has been approved by the South-East Regional Ethics Committee for Medical Research in Norway (2023/178330) and the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research (SIKT). A Data Protection Impact Assessment was developed by the research group and approved by SIKT and the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. We will disseminate the results through peer-reviewed publications, academic conference presentations and webinars. We will communicate with the public and key stakeholders in football worldwide to inform and promote the development and implementation of potential preventive measures based on our study findings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-560932f6aa9a4d6db22c57fe74619925 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-560932f6aa9a4d6db22c57fe746199252025-01-15T02:25:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-01-0115110.1136/bmjopen-2024-092456Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort studyThor Einar Andersen0Roald Bahr1Emilie Isager Howe2Peter Filipcik3John Bjørneboe4Geir Selbaek5Sara Christina Dahlén6Stian Kirkerud Sandmo7Lena Bache-Mathisen8Einar August Høgestøl9Truls Straume-Næsheim10Lars T Westlye112 Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Medicine, Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, Oslo, Norway4 Department of Physical medicine and Rehabilitation, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway3Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Norway2 Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, NorwayVestfold Hospital Trust, Norwegian National Centre for Ageing and Health, Tonsberg, Vestfold, NorwayOslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Oslo, NorwayOslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Oslo, NorwayOslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, NorwayOslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, NorwayIntroduction Repetitive head impacts (RHI) in sports may represent a risk factor for long-term cognitive and neurological sequelae. Recent studies have identified an association between playing football at the top level and an elevated risk of cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative disease. However, these were conducted on men, and there is a knowledge gap regarding these risks in female athletes. This study aims to investigate the effect of head impacts on brain health in female former top-level football players.Methods and analysis This is a prospective cohort study, enroling female former football players and top-level athletes from sports without an inherent risk of RHI. All participants are born in 1980 or earlier. We plan to perform follow-up assessments at least three times over 20 years.The protocol includes neurocognitive assessments, self-reported neurocognitive outcomes, neurological examination, advanced brain MRI, and fluid biomarkers.Ethics and dissemination The study has been approved by the South-East Regional Ethics Committee for Medical Research in Norway (2023/178330) and the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research (SIKT). A Data Protection Impact Assessment was developed by the research group and approved by SIKT and the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. We will disseminate the results through peer-reviewed publications, academic conference presentations and webinars. We will communicate with the public and key stakeholders in football worldwide to inform and promote the development and implementation of potential preventive measures based on our study findings.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e092456.full |
| spellingShingle | Thor Einar Andersen Roald Bahr Emilie Isager Howe Peter Filipcik John Bjørneboe Geir Selbaek Sara Christina Dahlén Stian Kirkerud Sandmo Lena Bache-Mathisen Einar August Høgestøl Truls Straume-Næsheim Lars T Westlye Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study BMJ Open |
| title | Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study |
| title_full | Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study |
| title_fullStr | Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study |
| title_short | Brain health in Norwegian female former top-level football players: a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study |
| title_sort | brain health in norwegian female former top level football players a protocol for a longitudinal cohort study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1/e092456.full |
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