ArticleSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2022
NZ-RugbyHealth Study: Self-reported Injury Experience and Current Health of Former Rugby Union and Non-contact Sport Players.
Article in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurodegenerative Diseases in Male Former First-Class New Zealand Rugby Players.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- A sixteen-year epidemiological study of match injuries sustained during the women's Rugby World Cup (2010 to 2025).Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Assessing the association between musculoskeletal injury and mental health in rugby players-A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Sustainable Career Transitions and Mental Health Support in Elite Sport: A Systematic Review of Evidence and Practices.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Injury Epidemiology in Brazilian Rugby Union: Implications for Strength and Conditioning Practice.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2024Article
- 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
- Concussion response and recovery in men and women's rugby union: A reflexive thematic analysis of player interviews.PloS one · 2024Article
- The 50 Most Cited Papers on Rugby since 2000 Reveal a Focus Primarily on Strength and Conditioning in Elite Male Players.Journal of sports medicine (Hindawi Publishing Corporation) · 2023Review
- Health conditions among retired elite rugby players: a scoping review.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is limited research on associations between playing rugby union and player health post-retirement.
objectiveThis study investigated differences in self-reported sport injury history and current self-reported health characteristics between former New Zealand rugby and non-contact sport players with a view to identifying issues to be further investigated with stronger epidemiological research designs.
methodsUsing a cross-sectional design, the NZ-RugbyHealth study surveyed 470 former rugby and non-contact sport players (43.8 ± 8.1 years; 127 elite rugby, 271 community rugby, 72 non-contact sport) recruited from October 2012 to April 2014. Demographic information, engagement in sport, sport injuries, medical conditions, mood, alcohol and substance use and ratings of current health status were obtained from a self-report 58-item general health e-questionnaire. We highlighted standardised differences in means of > 0.6 and differences in relative percentages of > 1.43 for variables between groups as representing at least moderate effect sizes, and of being worthy of follow-up studies.
resultsHigher percentages of the elite rugby player group had sustained injuries of a given body-site type (e.g. neck sprain/strain, thigh bruising, hamstring strain) combination than the non-contact sports players. Higher percentages of the rugby groups reported having sustained concussion (94% for elite, 82% for community, 26% for non-contact), injuries requiring hospitalisation (73%, 46%, 25%), injuries that stopped participation in sport permanently (28%, 28%, 11%) and sport-related surgery (72%, 46%, 32%) during their playing career. Both rugby groups had a higher prevalence of osteoarthritis (37%, 18%, 6%) than non-contact athletes and community rugby players had higher levels of hazardous alcohol consumption (38%, 40%, 25%) in retirement than non-contact athletes. There was little difference between rugby players and non-contact sports athletes in self-reported mood, substance use and current physical or psychological health ratings.
conclusionsFormer rugby player groups were at higher risk than the non-contact player group for most injuries during their playing careers, and in retirement had greater prevalence of osteoarthritis and hazardous alcohol consumption. The relative youth of the groups (43.8 years on average) means that health issues that typically do not emerge until later life may not have yet manifested.
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Registered trials
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