Doddie Weir (1970 - 2022)

[Wowbagger]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/nov/26/doddie-weir-former-scotland-and-british-lions-second-row-dies-aged-52

He'd been suffering from MND for 6 years. Apparently, research shows that rugby players are 15 times more likely to contract MND than non-players.

https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/concerning-links-between-former-international-rugby-players-and-neurodegeneration-revealed/

[Steph]

A giant in so many ways. Might the government finally decide to live up to its promises re MND research?

[C-3PO]

Threads merged by your shiny metal servant Threeps

[Steph]

Thanks mods

[Mr Larrington]

Scottish FA introduces new adult game heading guidance.  Peripherally related?

[Steph]

Scottish FA introduces new adult game heading guidance.  Peripherally related?

Reading Wows' links to the prevalence of MND, I do wonder about a parallel path to harm. See also boxers and Parkinson's.

I have been knocked out several times, ranging from childhood beatings to a serious motorcycle accident, but including multiple occasions playing rugby. Always considered it as 'part of the game', but I now wonder. The bike crash left me with multiple issues, some of which persist to this day.

[Wowbagger]

It did cross my mind that the sample in the test mentioned above wasn't huge. According to some research I found, 5.69 deaths per 100,000 of the population in England died from MND between 1998-2019. That is skewed slightly towards men. If Doddie Weir was the only MND death amongst the rugby players in the sample, that, I think, would make the sample appear massively worse amongst rugby players.

I'm no statistician but in my view that would need a much larger sample.

I think the link to dementia is much less tenuous though.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9344929/ refers.