A new study from the University of Auckland has found that former male rugby players in New Zealand face a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia later in life.
The research shows that men who played rugby at provincial or higher levels between 1950 and 2000 had a 22% greater chance of developing neurodegenerative diseases compared with men in the general population.
The study, published in Sports Medicine, looked at nearly 13,000 men who played first-class rugby and compared them with 2.4 million New Zealand men of the same age, ethnicity, and birthplace.
Over the follow-up period from 1988 to 2023, about 52 out of every 1,000 men in the general population developed or died from a neurodegenerative disease.
Among rugby players, that number was higher—65 out of every 1,000. That translates to 13 extra cases per 1,000 men, or about four additional cases each year across the player group.
Ph.D. student Francesca Anns, the study’s lead author, explained that both professional and provincial-level players were at greater risk, although the risk was higher for those who reached the top levels of the game.
The study also found position mattered: players in backline roles had a higher risk than forwards, and the risk for backs increased the longer they played and the more matches they took part in. This pattern was not seen in forwards.
The increased risks usually appeared after age 70, and the researchers found no evidence of earlier-onset dementia in rugby players.
Dr. Stephanie D’Souza, co-lead investigator, said the findings are in line with research from other countries on collision sports such as American football, soccer, and boxing.
However, the increase in risk reported in this New Zealand study was slightly lower than in some previous studies.
She noted this could be due to differences in study design, the comparison group, or how rugby was played in New Zealand over the decades studied.
The study is part of the Kumanu Tāngata project, which investigates the long-term health of rugby players using anonymized health records. The researchers say their findings add to growing global evidence that repeated head impacts in collision sports can have serious consequences for brain health later in life.
While the study cannot prove that rugby directly causes dementia, the consistent pattern across multiple studies points to a strong link.
The fact that risks were higher for players who competed at more intense levels and for longer periods suggests a possible “dose-response” effect—the more exposure to head impacts, the higher the risk.
The authors recommend that rugby and other collision sports take steps to reduce head impact exposure and manage concussions carefully. They also stress the importance of being transparent about both the benefits and risks of playing sports like rugby.
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