Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34052518›Full record

SynthesisJournal of sport and health science2022

Sex differences in injury rates in team-sport athletes: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

Astrid Zech, Karsten Hollander, Astrid Junge, Simon Steib, Andreas Groll, Jonas Heiner, Florian Nowak, Daniel Pfeiffer, Anna Lina Rahlf

Open access · diamondAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of sport and health science, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
77citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
12.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

77 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 138 citations in OpenAlex.

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17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Astrid ZechDepartment of Human Movement Science and Exercise Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena 07749, Germany. Electronic address: astrid.zech@uni-jena.de.
Karsten HollanderMSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg 20457, Germany.
Astrid JungeMSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg 20457, Germany; Swiss Concussion Center, Schulthess Klinik, Zürich 8008, Switzerland.
Simon SteibDepartment of Human Movement, Training and Active Aging, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg 69117, Germany.
Andreas GrollDepartment of Statistics, Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund 44227, Germany.
Jonas HeinerDepartment of Statistics, Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund 44227, Germany.
Florian NowakDepartment of Human Movement Science and Exercise Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena 07749, Germany.
Daniel PfeifferDepartment of Human Movement Science and Exercise Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena 07749, Germany.
Anna Lina RahlfDepartment of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Institute of Human Movement Science, University of Hamburg, Hamburg 20146, Germany.
Friedrich Schiller University Jena · DEMSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University · DETU Dortmund University · DEHeidelberg University · DEUniversität Hamburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTeam-sport players have a particularly high injury risk. Although female sex is considered a risk factor, it is still unknown whether female and male team-sport players, in fact, differ in their injury rates. We aimed to compare injury rates between female and male players by systematically reviewing and meta-analyzing injury surveillance studies of both sexes in order to evaluate sex-specific differences in team-sport injuries.

methodsStudies that prospectively collected injury data for high-level female and male players (age ≥16 years) in basketball, field hockey, football (soccer), handball, rugby (union and sevens), and volleyball were included. Two reviewers (AZ and ALR) independently assessed study quality and extracted data for overall, match, training, and severe injuries (>28 days' time loss) as well as data regarding injury locations and types. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were pooled in a meta-analysis, and meta-regression analysis was performed when 10 or more studies were available.

resultsOf 20 studies, 9 studies reported injury data from football, 3 studies from rugby, 3 studies from handball, 1 study from basketball, 1 study from field hockey, 2 studies from volleyball, and 1 study from basketball and field hockey. For overall injuries, the pooled IRR = 0.86 (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.76-0.98) indicated significantly more injuries in male than in female players. For injury location, the pooled IRR showed higher injury rates in male athletes than in female athletes for upper extremity, hip/groin, thigh, and foot injuries. Female players had a significantly higher rate of anterior cruciate ligament injuries (IRR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.27-3.62) than male players. No significant sex-specific differences in IRR were found for match, training, severe injuries, concussions, or ankle sprains.

conclusionOur meta-analysis provides evidence for sex-specific differences in the injury rates in team sports. Further epidemiological studies including both sexes in sports other than football are needed in order to strengthen the evidence.

Indexed as

Athletic InjuriesTeam SportsAdolescentFemaleHumansMaleRegression AnalysisSex CharacteristicsSoccerAthletesFemaleInjuriesMaleTeam sports

Identifiers

PMID34052518
PMCPMC8847930
OpenAlexW3165069250

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.