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BACKGROUND: Achilles tendon (AT) ruptures are one of the most common tendon ruptures, but there have been no studies investigating these injuries in the United States (US) using data representative of the entire US population. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and risk factors for AT ruptures in the US. We hypothesized that male sex, older age, and sport participation would increase the risk for AT ruptures. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: All patients presenting to an emergency department with ruptured AT in the US from 2012 through 2016 were selected from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database. Incidence was calculated for sex, race, and age. AT ruptures were characterized based on the mechanism of injury, with subanalyses performed on sport-related AT ruptures to examine sex-, race-, and age-related differences. RESULTS: < .01). The largest overall incidence of AT ruptures occurred in those aged 20-39 years for male patients (5.6/100,000 person-years) and in those aged 40-59 years for female patients (1.2/100,000 person-years). The largest rise in the incidence of AT ruptures during the study period was observed in patients aged 40-59 years (78% increase). The most common injury mechanism was participation in a sport or recreational activity (81.9% of all injuries), with basketball being the most common overall cause of AT ruptures. CONCLUSION: While AT ruptures in the US most commonly occur in young male patients (20-39 years old), the largest rise in the incidence was observed in middle-aged patients (40-59 years old), with participation in recreational sports being the most likely mechanism. Recognizing high-risk patients can help physicians counsel them and recommend strategies for injury prevention.
Lemme et al. (Thu,) studied this question.