 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Jingzhen (Ginger) Yang, MPH, Health Behavior and Health Education/Injury Prevention Research Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 137 East Franklin Street, Suite 500, CB #7505, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7505, 919-966-2251, jzyang@email.unc.edu, Stephen W. Marshall, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, and Injury Prevention Research Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7505, 137 East Franklin Street, Suite 500, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7505, and Frederick O. Mueller, PhD, Injury Prevention Research Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 137 East Franklin Street, Suite 500, CB #7505, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7505.
Objective: To investigate the influence of injury history on incident injury among North Carolina (NC) high school athletes.
Method: The study utilized data collected on 12 sports in 100 NC high schools from 1996-1999. Information was collected on previous injury experience at the beginning of the season, incidence in-season injuries, and practice/game participation during the season. Rate ratios were calculated using the no injury history group as the referent. The four most common sites of injury (knee, ankle, shoulder, and wrist) were selected for subgroup analysis.
Results: Out of a total of 2750 injuries, 62.3% reported having a positive injury history. The injury rate for athletes with a positive self-reported injury history was 1.64 (95% CI=1.55, 1.74) times greater than the rate in those with no self-reported injury history. The associations were stronger for four body sites, with knee (RR=3.46, 95%CI=2.99, 4.01), ankle (RR=3.49, 95%CI=3.09, 3.94), shoulder (RR=12.86, 95%CI=10.60, 15.61), and wrist (RR=5.06, 95%CI=3.49, 7.34) injuries all being positively associated with previous injury at that body site.
Conclusion: The findings suggested that athletes with a positive self-reported injury history are at greater risk of incident injury, especially at the same body site. These findings emphasize the important of primary prevention and correct rehabilitation of athletic injuries in youth sports.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Adolescent Health, Injury Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.