Introduction: Sport participation has increased during the past few decades, with accompanying rise in sport injuries. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of sport injuries, and drop-out due to them along with possible risk factors (hours of sports participation, sex, age, aerobic fitness and body composition). 

Material and methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional design was used and the 457 participants were 17 and 23 years old. Height, weight, body fat, lean soft tissue, bone mass, and aerobic fitness (W/kg) were measured. Participation in sports and physical training, and the prevalence of sport injuries and drop-out were estimated using questionnaires. 

Results: Four hundred and forty participants (96%) had at some time point participated in organized sports, but 277 (63%) were no longer practicing, more commonly (p=0.058) among girls (67.6%) than boys (58.8%). Thirty-seven (8.4%) dropped-out due to sport injuries. Of those participating in organized sports for the past 12 months, 51% required medical assistance at least once because of sport injuries. Multiple regression analysis revealed 5-fold increased risk for requiring medical assistance among those practicing more than 6 hours per week compared to those who practiced 6 hours or less (OR = 5.30, 95% CI: 3.00 to 9.42). 

Conclusion: Youth sport injuries are a significant problem that can cause drop-out from participation in sport. More research is needed to better understand the impact of risk factors in order to promote prevention and ensure evidence-based training.

Table I. Sample size, year of birth and participation in organized sports and physical training
	Sample (n)	%	Men (n)	%	Women (n)	%	p-value
Sample size	457		242	53	215	47
Year of birth (age)							0.629
1994 (17)	256	56	133	55	123	57.2
1988 (23)	201	44	109	45	92	42.8
Organized sports							0.058
≥2 times/week	163	37	96	41.2	67	32.4
No longer practicing	277	63	137	58.8	140	67.6
Organized sports and/or physical training (hrs/week)							0.001
≤ 6	275	66.3	132	59.2	143	74.5
> 6	140	33.7	91	40.8	49	25.5

 

Table II. Time loss from organized sports and drop-out due to sport injury
	(n=440)	%	Men (n=234)	%	Women   (n=206)	%
Never	183	41.6	87	37.2	96	46.6
Less than one week	60	13.6	41	17.5	19	9.2
1 - 3 weeks	72	16.4	36	15.4	36	17.5
More than 3 weeks	88	20	54	23.1	34	16.5
Drop-out due to injury	37	8.4	16	6.8	21	10.2

 

Table III.  Descriptive characteristics of subjects participating in organized sports and/or physical training
	Weekly exposure, hrs/week
	≤6 (n=275)		>6 hr (n=140)
	(n)	Mean (SE)	(n)	Mean (SE)	p-value
Women
Height, cm	143	167.0 (6.5)	49	167.0 (5.6)	0.913
Weight, kg	143	65.6 (11.8)	49	63.8 (8.2)	0.317
BMI, kg/m²	143	23.4 (3.9)	49	22.9 (3.2)	0.373
Fat mass, kg	115	21.9 (7.8)	47	18.7 (5.2)	0.01
Fat mass, %	115	33.1 (6.6)	47	28.9 (5.3)	<0.001
LST, kg	115	40.4 (4.8)	47	42.8 (4.6)	0.005
LST, %	115	63.1 (6.5)	47	67.2 (5.0)	<0.001
Bone mass, kg	115	2.4 (0.3)	47	2.4 (0.3)	0.168
Bone mass, %	115	3.7 (0.5)	47	3.8 (0.4)	0.075
AF, (W/kg)	112	2.3 (0.4)	40	2.8 (0.4)	<0.001
Men
Height, cm	132	181.0 (6.8)	91	180.0 (6.2)	0.27
Weight, kg	132	79.4 (19.9)	91	76.1 (12.2)	0.157
BMI, kg/m²	132	24.1 (5.5)	91	23.4 (3.2)	0.252
Fat mass, kg	110	18.8 (13.6)	74	14.2 (6.9)	0.008
Fat mass, %	110	22.0 (8.3)	74	17.5 (5.9)	<0.001
LST, kg	110	57.5 (7.9)	74	61.0 (7.2)	0.003
LST, %	110	74.1 (8.1)	74	78.6 (5.9)	<0.001
Bone mass, kg	110	3.0 (0.5)	74	3.2 (0.5)	0.003
Bone mass, %	110	3.9 (0.6)	74	4.2 (0.4)	0.002
AF, (W/kg)	113	3.0 (0.6)	85	3.3 (0.5)	<0.001
Abbreviations: SE, standard error of estimate;  BMI, body mass index; LST, lean soft tissue; AF, aerobic fitness

 

 

Table IV.  Multivariate analysis of sport injury risk (MA) according to weekly exposure
	n (%)		Model 1		Model 2ᵃ		Model 3ᵇ
Hours of practice	No MA	MA	OR	95% CI	ORᵃ	95% CI	ORᵇ	95% CI
≤6 hours a week	222 (81.6)	50 (18.4)	1	Referent	1	Referent	1	Referent
>6 hours a week	63 (45.3)	76 (54.7)	5.36	3.40 - 8.43	4.13	2.46- 6.93	5.3	3.00 - 9.42
Abbreviations: MA, medical assistance the last 12 month; CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio
ᵃ Adjustment was made for aerobic fitness
ᵇ Adjustment was made for aerobic fitness and fat mass percentage