Key result
Short-course triathlon participation linked to up to ~24 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures.
Why the study?
Determining the incidence, prevalence, etiologies, and risk factors of injury and illness in short-course triathletes is needed to assist in the development and implementation of prevention strategies.
What is the incidence and prevalence of injury and illness in short-course triathletes?
Systematic Review (n=42)
What is the incidence and prevalence of injury and illness in short-course triathletes?
In short-course triathletes, running-related lower limb injuries and environmentally-driven gastrointestinal and cardiovascular illnesses are the most frequently reported health problems.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Informs targeted prevention in short-course triathletes; extends the evidence base with pooled incidence estimates for future risk-factor studies.
BACKGROUND: Determining the incidence and prevalence of injury and illness in short-course triathletes would improve understanding of their etiologies and therefore assist in the development and implementation of prevention strategies. This study synthesizes the existing evidence on the incidence and prevalence of injury and illness and summarizes reported injury or illness etiology and risk factors affecting short-course triathletes. METHODS: This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Studies reporting health problems (injury and illness) in triathletes (all sexes, ages, and experience levels) training and/or competing in short-course distances were included. Six electronic databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsychINFO, Web of Science Core Collection, and SPORTDiscus) were searched. Risk of bias was independently assessed by 2 reviewers using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Two authors independently completed data extraction. RESULTS: The search yielded 7998 studies, with 42 studies eligible for inclusion. Twenty-three studies investigated injuries, 24 studies investigated illnesses, and 5 studies investigated both injuries and illnesses. The injury incidence rate ranged 15.7-24.3 per 1000 athlete exposures, and the illness incidence rate ranged 1.8-13.1 per 1000 athlete days. Injury and illness prevalence ranged between 2%-15% and 6%-84%, respectively. Most injuries reported occurred during running (45%-92%), and the most frequently reported illnesses affected the gastrointestinal (7%-70%), cardiovascular (14%-59%), and respiratory systems (5%-60%). CONCLUSION: The most frequently reported health problems in short-course triathletes were: overuse and lower limb injuries associated with running; gastrointestinal illnesses and altered cardiac function, primarily attributable to environmental factors; and respiratory illness mostly caused by infection.
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Guevara et al. (2023) conducted a systematic review in Injury and illness (n=42). Short-course triathlon training and competition was evaluated on Incidence and prevalence of injury and illness. Short-course triathlon participation was associated with an injury incidence of 15.7-24.3 per 1000 athlete exposures and an illness incidence of 1.8-13.1 per 1000 athlete days.
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