Risk of degenerative brain disease 'increases with long rugby careers'

A rugby player’s risk of developing an incurable brain disease uniquely associated with repeated head impacts is relative to the length of their career, a new study indicates.

Each additional year of playing was found to increase the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) by 14%, in a study of the brains of 31 former players whose average career length was 18 years.

CTE can only be diagnosed post-mortem, and to date the only recognised risk factor for CTE is traumatic brain injury and repeated head impact exposure.

The study, published in Acta Neuropathologica in the week of the Rugby World Cup final, found CTE present in 21 of the 31 brains (68%) donated to research institutes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.