Youth athletes face 60% higher injury rates at Olympic Games than adults
A major analysis of Olympic and Paralympic competition data reveals that teenage athletes suffer significantly more injuries and illnesses than their adult counterparts, with youth games showing 10.5 injuries per 1,000 athlete-days versus 6.5 for adults. The findings have immediate implications for sports federations, insurance providers, and policymakers developing athlete safety protocols and medical resource allocation.
Originaltitel: Injury and illness epidemiology in elite athletes during the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Paralympic Games: a systematic review and meta-analysis
<p>Objective To systematically review and synthesise the incidence and characteristics of injuries and illnesses among athletes participating in the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Paralympic Games.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis.Data sources PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science were searched up to 2 July 2024, and Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform up to 12 December 2023.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Cohort studies conducted during the Games reporting injuries and illnesses among athletes. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for prevalence studies, and certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework.Results 27 articles were included (10 Olympic, 4 Youth Olympic and 13 Paralympic Games). 23 articles had low, 3 moderate and 1 high risk of bias. Certainty of evidence was high to moderate for Olympic, high to low for Youth Olympic and low for Paralympic Games. Injury incidences per 1000 athlete-days were 6.5 (95% CI 5.9 to 7.2) during Olympic, 10.5 (95% CI 9.4 to 11.8) during Youth Olympic and 14.3 (95% CI 9.9 to 20.7) during Paralympic Games. Illness incidences per 1000 athlete-days were 3.6 (95% CI 2.8 to 4.7), 6.9 (95% CI 6.1 to 7.8) and 9.7 (95% CI 6.5 to 14.4), respectively. Lower limb injuries were frequent during Olympic and Youth Olympic Games, upper limb injuries during Paralympic Games and respiratory illnesses across all Games cohorts.Conclusions Injury and illness incidences were highest in Paralympic Games, followed by Youth Olympic and Olympic Games. Incidences and patterns of injury and illness were sport and context specific, which could inform future prevention strategies.PROSPERO registration number CRD42023475334.</p>