Head impacts are associated with altered gut microbiome in football players

AI Summary

A study indicates that non-concussive head impacts in American collegiate football players may lead to significant changes in the gut microbiome. This research highlights potential health repercussions related to repeated head injuries in contact sports.

Non-concussive head impacts—hits to the head that don't cause clinically detectable symptoms—are correlated with subsequent changes to the gut microbiome in a small sample of US collegiate football players, according to a study published in PLOS One by Ahmet Ay and Kenneth Douglas Belanger of Colgate University, U.S., and colleagues.