Youth football ups odds of brain problems in adulthood
TUESDAY, Sept. 19, 2017 -- Kids who start playing tackle football before age 12 have a higher risk of mental and behavioral problems in adulthood than their counterparts who began playing at older ages, a new study suggests.Researchers say playing tackle football at a younger age boosted the odds of later problems with behavioral control, apathy, thinking and decision-making by twofold compared to other players.They also said the risk of clinical depression rose by threefold in these players compared to their counterparts who started playing at older ages."These findings were independent of the total number of seasons the participants played football or at what level they played, such as high school, college or professional," said study lead author Michael Alosco, a post-graduate fellow at...