Watson Rachel S, Sergio Lauren, Mao Haojie, Brooks Jeffrey S, Dickey James P
Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Faculty of Health, School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
PLoS One. 2025 Jul 31;20(7):e0329329. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0329329. eCollection 2025.
Repetitive head impacts have long-lasting negative effects on the cognition of athletes. For example, repetitive head impacts accumulated by adult professional soccer players throughout their careers result in long-term negative consequences on cognition. However, these effects on youth soccer players have not been extensively studied and need to be further evaluated. The purposes of this study were to quantify head impact exposure in youth elite soccer and to examine the effects of repetitive head impacts on the cognitive function of youth male soccer players. A prospective cohort study of a single boys U13 soccer team of 18 players (12.9 ± 0.2 years of age) was completed throughout a single soccer season (five months in duration). Head impact frequency data were recorded using impact monitoring mouthguards worn during practices and matches and subsequently video-verified. Cognitive function was assessed using cognitive-motor integration (CMI) tasks conducted before the first season match, every subsequent four weeks, and after the last match. Peak path velocity, absolute error, reaction time, full path movement time, and the number of direction reversals were CMI task outcome measures. Over a single soccer season, 1089 head impacts occurred with more head impacts occurring in practices (62.7%) than matches (37.3%). Midfielders experienced the most head impacts during practices (53.6% of practice impacts), and defenders experienced the most head impacts during matches (47.8% of match impacts). Repetitive head impact exposure by position was associated with significant decreases in absolute error (p < 0.001), increases in peak velocity (p < 0.001), and increases in reaction time (p < 0.001). Repetitive head impacts within a single soccer season were associated with measurable declines in some aspects of youth soccer players' cognitive function. Therefore, coaches should aim to reduce the number of head impacts experienced by male youth soccer players with a specific focus on reducing head impact exposure during practices.
反复的头部撞击对运动员的认知有长期的负面影响。例如，成年职业足球运动员在其职业生涯中积累的反复头部撞击会对认知产生长期的负面后果。然而，这些对青少年足球运动员的影响尚未得到广泛研究，需要进一步评估。本研究的目的是量化青少年精英足球运动员的头部撞击暴露情况，并研究反复头部撞击对青少年男性足球运动员认知功能的影响。在一个足球赛季（为期五个月）中，对一支由18名球员组成的U13男子足球队进行了一项前瞻性队列研究。使用在训练和比赛中佩戴的撞击监测护齿记录头部撞击频率数据，随后进行视频验证。在第一个赛季比赛前、之后每四周以及最后一场比赛后，通过认知运动整合（CMI）任务评估认知功能。峰值路径速度、绝对误差、反应时间、全路径移动时间和方向反转次数是CMI任务的结果指标。在一个足球赛季中，共发生了1089次头部撞击，训练中发生的头部撞击次数（62.7%）多于比赛中（37.3%）。中场球员在训练中受到的头部撞击最多（占训练撞击次数的53.6%），后卫在比赛中受到的头部撞击最多（占比赛撞击次数的47.8%）。按位置划分的反复头部撞击暴露与绝对误差显著降低（p<0.001）、峰值速度增加（p<0.001）和反应时间增加（p<0.001）相关。在一个足球赛季内的反复头部撞击与青少年足球运动员认知功能的某些方面出现可测量的下降有关。因此，教练应旨在减少青少年男性足球运动员受到的头部撞击次数，特别关注减少训练期间的头部撞击暴露。
