There was a correlation between poorer neuropsychological test performance and frequent heading during practice and competition in the 2 weeks prior to testing among amateur soccer players, according to recently published results. However, unintentional head impacts that occurred during soccer were not associated with cognitive performance.

Researchers recruited active, adult amateur soccer players in New York. Overall, 308 players completed 741 HeadCount-2w questionnaires on soccer activity, heading and unintentional head impacts. All soccer players also completed neuropsychological tests which included verbal learning, verbal memory, psychomotor speed, attention and working memory. During a 2-year period, players at 3 and 6 months completed one or more identical follow-up protocols. Investigators used repeated measures general estimating equations linear models to determine if variations in the neuropsychological tests were associated with either heading or unintentional head impacts during the 2-week period before testing.