Incidence rate and burden of illness at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe the incidence rate (IR) and illness burden (IB) at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.MethodsA total of 567 athletes from 49 countries were monitored for 12 days over the Pyeongchang 2018 Games (6804 athlete days). Illness data were obtained daily from teams with (41 teams, 557 athletes) and teams without (8 teams, 10 athletes) their own medical support, through electronic data capturing systems.ResultsThere were 87 illnesses reported, with an illness IR of 12.8 illnesses per 1000 athlete days (95% CI 10.2 to 16.0) and IB of 6.8 days lost per 1000 athlete days (95% CI 3.4 to 13.5). The highest IR was reported for Para snowboard (IR of 19.7 [95% CI 12.0 to 32.2]). Illnesses in the respiratory system (IR of 4.1 [95% CI 2.9 to 5.9]; IB of 1.4 [95% CI 0.6 to 3.0]), skin and subcutaneous system (IR of 2.5 [95% CI 1.5 to 4.1]; IB of 0.6 [95% CI 0.1 to 2.9]), and eye and ocular adnexa (IR of 1.6 [95% CI 0.9 to 3.1]; IB of 0.5 [95% CI 0.1 to 3.3]) were the most common.ConclusionThis is the first study to report both the IR and IB in this setting. There was a high IR of illness in the new sport of Para snowboard. The respiratory system had both the highest IR and IB.

Team illness prevention strategy (TIPS) is associated with a 59% reduction in acute illness during the Super Rugby tournament: a control–intervention study over 7 seasons involving 126 850 player days

“…In the last decade, there has been an increasing focus on the prevention of injuries in sport and also the protection of the health of the athlete. A number of studies have shown that medical illness can be as common as injuries in elite athletes who participate in events and tournaments lasting days to a few weeks, including football,1 2 aquatic sport,3 athletics,4 Summer and Winter Olympic,5 and Paralympic Games 6–9. In all these studies, illnesses most commonly affected the respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, or the skin and subcutaneous tissue, and the most common cause was infection 1–5 10 11…”

Verletzungen im deutschen paralympischen Ski Alpin über einen 25-jährigen Zeitraum

“…Trotz der hohen Anzahl an Menschen mit Behinderung und der Größe der Paralympischen Spiele ist die bisher erschienene Literatur zum Thema Hochleistungs-Ski-Alpin mit Behinderung sehr übersichtlich. Mehrfach wurde zuletzt auf einen Mangel an Längsschnittstudien hingewiesen [8][9][10]. Es liegen zwar mehrere Wettkampfbeobachtungen vor [10][11][12][13][14], eine kontinuierliche Evaluation auch des Trainings ist bisher allerdings sehr selten [8].…”

“…Mehrfach wurde zuletzt auf einen Mangel an Längsschnittstudien hingewiesen [8][9][10]. Es liegen zwar mehrere Wettkampfbeobachtungen vor [10][11][12][13][14], eine kontinuierliche Evaluation auch des Trainings ist bisher allerdings sehr selten [8]. Ein aktuelles Review der Literatur weist weiterhin auf einen Mangel an sportartenspezifischen Untersuchungen hin [9].…”

Epidemiology of injuries during the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships 2018: A prospective cohort study

“…Curtis and Dillon found that basketball players were the second most injured athletes among wheelchair sports (after track and field). Systematic injury surveillance has been implemented and published for the Summer POG in 2012 and 2016 and the Winter POG in 2018 . Wheelchair basketball was reported to have an injury incidence rate of 12.0 injuries per 1000 athlete‐days (95% CI: 8.3‐16.8) in 2012 and 12.8 injuries per 1000 athlete‐days (95% CI: 9.5‐17.4) in 2016.…”

“…Systematic injury surveillance has been implemented and published for the Summer POG in 2012 7 and 2016 8 and the Winter POG in 2018. 9 Wheelchair basketball was reported to have an injury incidence rate of 12.0 injuries per 1000 athlete-days (95% CI: 8.3-16.8) in 2012 and 12.8 injuries per 1000 athlete-days (95% CI: 9.5-17.4) in 2016. More traumatic than overuse injuries were reported from wheelchair basketball during the 2012 POG.…”