Australian scientists have concluded that for the first time in the history of sports medicine, CTE has been diagnosed in a female professional athlete. Heather Anderson, who was an Australian rules football player, died at the young age of 28 last year. However, recent reports have shown that she was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease called CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy).
In a paper published in Acta Neuropathologica, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, researchers said:
“As the representation of women in professional contact sports is growing, it seems likely that more C.T.E. cases will be identified in female athletes,” the report said. “Given females’ greater susceptibility to concussion, there is an urgent need to recognize the risks, and to institute strategies and policies to minimize traumatic brain injuries in increasingly popular female contact sports.”
According to The New York Times, Anderson started playing Australian rules football, also called footy, when she was 5 years old. She went on to compete professionally in the top women’s league. Anderson represented the Adelaide Crows.
The Adelaide Football Club is deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of Premiership player Heather Anderson. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends. pic.twitter.com/4aUz8GZ8p7
— Adelaide Crows AFLW (@CrowsAFLW) November 14, 2022
She had to tragically retire from the sport at the age of 23 in 2017 due to a shoulder injury. She played eight professional games in the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) and suffered several injuries throughout. Anderson also suffered at least one concussion. According to her family, she died by suicide at 28.
Her family suspected that she had at least four more concussions. They donated her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank (ASBB). They hoped that this could help them achieve a better understanding of her death. And it did, however, they were not completely surprised.
Heather Anderson’s family believes that the CTE findings make sense
Prof Michael Buckland co-authored the study. He informed the BBC that there were at least three clear lesions on Anderson’s brain. It indicated an early stage of CTE. Prof Buckland told the BBC that a wide range of mental health issues are suffered by people suffering from CTE. He said that Anderson’s family told him “in some ways” the findings “made a lot of sense.”
“Depression, anxiety, irritability, impulsivity, drug and alcohol use, suicidal thoughts, as well as actions of suicide are common. I think [Anderson] is a sentinel case. There’s certainly a real need for a focus on females in this space,” he said.
Australian scientists say they have made the world’s first diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a professional female athlete.
The diagnosis was made on the brain of Heather Anderson, an Australian Rules footballer who took her own life last year aged 28.#Hiru pic.twitter.com/04JFwQ1TqJ— Hiru News English (@HiruNewsEnglish) July 4, 2023
Anderson’s father opened up about the diagnosis. He said, “It was a surprise, but not a surprise,” to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program 7.30. “And I think now that this report has been published, I’m sort of trying to think about how it might play out for female sportspeople everywhere.”
CTE has been previously found in several male athletes. A BBC reports states that “more than 300 cases identified in American football alone.” Across the globe, sporting bodies are under attack for not providing support to players. In Australia, the US, and the UK, cases have been filed by players for the serious damage concussions have allegedly caused them.
CTE studies for female athletes have been limited. However, it is expected to rise as contact sport for women is being promoted globally.