Body Mass Index and Serum γ‐glutamyltransferase Level as Risk Factors for Injuries Related to Professional Horse Racing: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Prevention of horse-related injuries is considered difficult because horse behavior is unpredictable. Therefore, risk factors for injuries related to professional horse racing need to be investigated. We conducted a study to determine w h e t h e r b o d y m a s s i n d e x ( B M I ) a n d γ -glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels are associated with professional horse racing-related injuries. Methods: A baseline healthy survey of 546 male grooms and exercise riders aged 40-70 yr working at Miho Training Center, the largest racing-horse training facility in Japan, was performed in May 2003. A total of 93 occupational injuries occurred from June 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine associations between the risk of injury and BMI and GGT. Results: Grooms and exercise riders with BMI <20 kg/m 2 or with BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 compared to BMI=20.0-22.9 kg/m 2 had 2.5 to 3.5-fold higher age-adjusted risks of injuries. The multivariate hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) after adjustment for age, GGT, smoking habit, and history of injuries were 3.5 (1.5 to 8.4) and 2.4 (1.2 to 4.8) for grooms, 3.1 (1.2 to 8.2) and 1.9 (0.4 to 10.1) for exercise riders, respectively. The age-adjusted hazard ratio of injuries for persons with GGT ≥100 IU/l was 2.0 to 2.5-fold higher than for those with GGT <60 IU/l. The multivariate hazard ratios were 1.9 (1.0 to 3.6) for grooms and 2.5 (1.0 to 6.2) for exercise riders. Conclusions: Low and high BMI and high GGT were associated with professional horse racing-related injuries. (J Occup Health 2009; 51: 323-331)

Gamma-glutamyltransferase, general and cause-specific mortality in 19,000 construction workers followed over 20 years

“…A similar pattern and interpretation has been reported before [30]. For non-alcoholic liver pathology, c-GT obviously would be expected to better capture extent of liver damage and thus to be more predictive than alcohol consumption, even though the latter would be assumed to exacerbate the course of disease.…”

“…In the general population, no association with death from respiratory causes or injury/poisoning was found in one large study [32], whereas c-GT may predict the risk of injuries in specific occupational settings [30]. We cannot fully explain the association with respiratory disease for the time being.…”

Are physiological attributes of jockeys predictors of falls? A pilot study

“…The physiological attributes of grooms and exercise riders,9 and the physiological demands of riding for equestrian and recreational horse riders2 10–14 have also been described. There is limited information on the fitness of jockeys, however, and no study has reported the fitness characteristics of track-work riders despite their integral role within the racing industry.…”

Obesity and the risk for occupational injuries: A literature review

“…A cohort study of 546 male professional horse racing employees in Japan utilized injury data for those who applied for workers' compensation benefits showed a statistical signficance associated with BMI and increased risk for occupational injuries among professional horse racing employees. The highest overall injury rate was that of falls (out of 100 reported occupational injuries 32 cases were fall related) [19]. Based on a study of 101,891 U.S. adults from data derived from the National Health Interview Survey [20], of the 723 employees who experienced an occupational injury, approximately 21% were fall injuries associated with employee's being either overweight or obese [20].…”

“…Another study of Canadian workforce (7,678 adults) using self-reported weight and height on National Population Health Survey (NPHS) found that obese workers experience up to a 49% higher risk of occupational injury and showed a pronounced association for injuries to the lower limbs for those workers who were overweight (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.50 to 2.11) and those who were obese (OR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.12 to 4.11) [15]. Risk factors were examined for lower extremity injuries using workers' compensation insurance benefit data from a cohort of 546 male employees in the professional horse racing industry [19]. High BMI was associated with increased risk for occupational injuries among professional horse racing employees and that overweight or obesity was found to be associated with low back and lower extremity injuries, most likely due to the high load on musculoskeletal structures of the excess weight.…”