Objectives: This cohort study reported descriptive statistics in athletes engaged in Summer and Winter Olympic sports who sustained a sport-related concussion (SRC) and assessed the impact of access to multidisciplinary care and injury modifiers on recovery.
Methods: 133 athletes formed two subgroups treated in a Canadian sport institute medical clinic: earlier (≤7 days) and late (≥8 days) access. Descriptive sample characteristics were reported and unrestricted return to sport (RTS) was evaluated based on access groups as well as injury modifiers. Correlations were assessed between time to RTS, history of concussions, the number of specialist consults and initial symptoms.
Results: 160 SRC (median age 19.1 years; female=86 (54%); male=74 (46%)) were observed with a median (IQR) RTS duration of 34.0 (21.0-63.0) days. Median days to care access was different in the early (1; nSRC=77) and late (20; nSRC=83) groups, resulting in median (IQR) RTS duration of 26.0 (17.0-38.5) and 45.0 (27.5-84.5) days, respectively (p<0.001). Initial symptoms displayed a meaningful correlation with prognosis in this study (p<0.05), and female athletes (52 days (95% CI 42 to 101)) had longer recovery trajectories than male athletes (39 days (95% CI 31 to 65)) in the late access group (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Olympic athletes in this cohort experienced an RTS time frame of about a month, partly due to limited access to multidisciplinary care and resources. Earlier access to care shortened the RTS delay. Greater initial symptoms and female sex in the late access group were meaningful modifiers of a longer RTS.
Objective: To describe the incidence and characteristics of injuries and illnesses among Team USA athletes competing at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games (PAG) and Parapan American Games (PPAG), with a particular focus on the incidence of respiratory illnesses and on injuries for sports new to the Olympic and Paralympic programmes.
Methods: Illnesses and injuries occurring among the 870 Team USA athletes competing in the Santiago 2023 PAG or PPAG were documented within Team USA's Injury and Illness Surveillance system. Illness and injury incidence per 1000 athlete-days (ADs) and incidence ratios (IR) were calculated, both with 95% CIs.
Results: Illness (IR 2.5, 95% CI 1.6, 3.9) and injury (IR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3, 2.5) rates were greater during PPAG compared with PAG. Illness rates were higher in the pre-opening ceremony period compared with the competition period for both PAG (IR 2.7, 95% CI 1.1, 5.9) and PPAG (IR 1.9, 95% CI 0.9, 3.8). Respiratory illness was the most common illness with 3.2% and 8.9% of all Team USA athletes reporting a respiratory illness during the PAG and PPAG, respectively. Sports that are relatively new to the Olympic/Paralympic programmes exhibited the highest injury rates during the Games: breaking (250.0 (91.7, 544.2) per 1000 ADs), Para taekwondo (93.8 (19.3, 274.0) per 1000 ADs) and surfing (88.9 (24.2, 227.6) per 1000 ADs).
Conclusion: Respiratory illness rates were the most common type of illness during both PAG and PPAG and were more likely to occur prior to competition starting. Our data have identified high injury risk populations (breaking, surfing, Para taekwondo) and timing (pre-opening ceremony period) for further risk factor analysis.
Background: Exposure to air pollution can affect the health of individuals with respiratory disease, but may also impede the health and performance of athletes. This is potentially relevant for people travelling to and competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG) in Paris. We describe anticipated air quality in Paris based on historical monitoring data and describe the impact of the process on the development of monitoring strategies for future international sporting events.
Methods: Air pollutant data for July to September 2020-2023 and pollen data for 2015-2022 were provided by Airparif (particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3)) and RNSA stations in the Paris region. Airparif's street-level numerical modelling provided spatial data for the OPG venues.
Results: The maximum daily mean PM2.5 was 11±6 µg/m3 at traffic stations, below the WHO recommended daily air quality threshold (AQT). Daily NO2 concentrations ranged from 5±3 µg/m3 in rural areas to 17±14 µgm3 in urban areas. Near traffic stations, this rose to 40±24 µg/m3 exceeding the WHO AQT. Both peaked around 06:00 and 20:00 UTC (coordinated universal time). The ambient O3 level exceeded the AQT on 20 days per month and peaked at 14:00 UTC. The main allergenic taxa from June to September was Poaceae (ie, grass pollen variety).
Conclusion: Air pollutant levels are expected to be within accepted air quality thresholds at the Paris OPG. However, O3 concentrations may be significantly raised in very hot and clear conditions and grass pollen levels will be high, prompting a need to consider and manage this risk in susceptible individuals.
Objectives: The objectives of this study are to describe the prevalence of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) among athletes competing in four Olympic and four Paralympic games. The secondary objective was to present the prohibited substance and methods classes associated with TUEs.
Methods: Data from the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System were extracted for this cross-sectional observation study. Eight cohorts were created to include athletes with TUEs who competed in the Rio 2016, Pyeongchang 2018, Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic games. Prevalence of TUEs and proportion of prohibited substance and methods classes were defined as percentages among all athletes competing at each games.
Results: 28 583 athletes competed in four editions of the Olympic games. Total prevalence of athletes with TUEs was 0.90% among all competitors. At the four Paralympic games, a total of 9852 athletes competed and the total TUE prevalence was 2.76%. The most frequently observed substances associated with TUEs at the Summer Olympics were glucocorticoids (0.50% in Rio) and stimulants (0.39% in Tokyo). At the Summer Paralympics, diuretics (0.79% in Rio) and stimulants (0.75% in Tokyo) were the most common. Winter games had somewhat similar trends, although TUE numbers were very low.
Conclusions: The number of athletes competing with valid TUEs at the Olympic and Paralympic games was <1% and <3%, respectively. Variations in substances and methods associated with TUEs for different medical conditions were identified. Nevertheless, numbers were low, further reaffirming that TUEs are not widespread in elite sport.