Trial reportScientific reports2017
Health amongst former rugby union players: A cross-sectional study of morbidity and health-related quality of life.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Impact of Exercise on Bone Health in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus-a Systematic Review.Current osteoporosis reports · 2020Pooled it
- Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction in Former Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2019Pooled it
- Neurodegenerative Diseases in Male Former First-Class New Zealand Rugby Players.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Health among Retired Great Britain's Olympic Athletes: A cross-sectional Study of Disease and Multimorbidity.Sports medicine - open · 2025Article
- Rugby Injury Imaging.Seminars in musculoskeletal radiology · 2025Review
- The 5Rs of Rugby: A qualitative evaluation of the development, delivery, and experience of a mental health literacy and social norms intervention with elite rugby union players in Ireland.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Kumanu Tāngata: the aftermatch study - protocol to examine the health outcomes of high-level male rugby union players using linked administrative data.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- Pain, impairment, medication use and health-related quality of life of retired professional rugby players.South African journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- Prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- Long-term function, body composition and cardiometabolic health in midlife former athletes: a scoping review.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2023Article
- Health conditions among retired elite rugby players: a scoping review.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2023Article
- Knee function after a mean of 19 years Post-retirement in 65 Italian semi-professional rugby veterans.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2022Article
- Concussion and long-term cognitive function among rugby players-The BRAIN Study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2022Article
- Common Biochemical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Early Knee Osteoarthritis and of Exercise/Training in Athletes: A Narrative Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- A Cross-Sectional Study of Retired Great British Olympians (Berlin 1936-Sochi 2014): Olympic Career Injuries, Joint Health in Later Life, and Reasons for Retirement from Olympic Sport.Sports medicine - open · 2021Article
- Utilising a Behaviour Change Model to Improve Implementation of theInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- The Sleep and Recovery Practices of Athletes.Nutrients · 2021Article
- Rugby Health and Well-Being Study: protocol for a UK-wide survey with health data cross-validation.BMJ open · 2021Article
- White matter abnormalities in active elite adult rugby players.Brain communications · 2021Article
- Implementation of theBMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In the general population, physical activity is associated with improved health outcomes. However, long-term sports participation may be associated with adverse outcomes, particularly at the elite level. The aims of this study were to assess morbidity and health-related quality of life (HrQoL) amongst former rugby players, compared to an age-standardised general population sample. A cross-sectional study of former elite, male, rugby players (n = 259) was undertaken, and standardised morbidity ratios (SMR) calculated, assessing morbidity prevalence relative to English Longitudinal Study of Aging participants (ELSA, n = 5186). HrQoL, measured using the EQ-5D, was compared to a Health Survey for England (HSE, n = 2981) sample. In SMR analyses of participants aged 50+, diabetes was significantly lower amongst former players, (0.28, 95% CI 0.11-0.66), whereas osteoarthritis (4.00, 95% CI 3.32-4.81), joint replacement (6.02, 95% CI 4.66-7.77), osteoporosis (2.69, 95% CI 1.35-5.38), and anxiety (2.00, 95% CI 1.11-3.61) were significantly higher. More problems in HrQoL were reported amongst former players within the domains of mobility (p < 0.001), self-care (p = 0.041), usual activities (p < 0.001) and pain/discomfort (p < 0.001). Morbidity and HrQoL differ between players and the general population, with higher musculoskeletal morbidity and lower diabetes amongst former players. The magnitude of musculoskeletal morbidity may warrant proactive osteoarthritis management within this population.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.