Illness and absence among wrestlers, swimmers, and gymnasts at a large university

The object of this study was to document the prevalence of illness and absence in members of three men's intercollegiate athletic teams: varsity wrestling, swimming, and gymnastics. Team members (N = 87) were interviewed weekly in January and February during 8 weeks of their competitive season. Symptoms, signs, and their duration were recorded on a standard form, as well as the number of days of absence from at least one class or team practice or competition. Mean prevalence of illness was 54 per 100 persons during the first 5 weeks of the study and 30 per 100 persons during the last 3 weeks. Eight-six percent of the athletes had at least one respiratory illness during the 8 week period and 40% reported skin problems. There were no significant differences among teams for respiratory or skin problems. Gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly more frequent among swimmers than among wrestlers or gymnasts (chi 2 = 16.1, df = 2, P less than 0.001). During an illness, an athlete was less likely to miss class than practice or competition (chi 2 = 5.33, df = 1, P less than 0.05). We conclude that there were no significant differences in the prevalence of illness among the three teams except that swimmers had more gastrointestinal problems as well as a transient syndrome associated with abnormal water quality (pH) in the swimming pool.