Health conditions among retired elite rugby players: a scoping review

Abstract

The aim of this scoping review was to present an overview of the existing epidemiological evidence in retired male and female elite rugby players regarding the prevalence rates of musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, neurocognitive, psychological and gynaecological health conditions. A systematic search was carried out across MEDLINE (via PubMed), SPORTDiscus (via EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (via EBSCOhost) and EMBASE for musculoskeletal (eg, osteoarthritis), cardiovascular (eg, hypertension), neurocognitive (eg, dementia) and psychological health (eg, disordered eating, alcohol misuse) conditions in retired elite male and female rugby players and gynaecological health conditions (menorrhagia) in retired female rugby players. Primary research studies describing the prevalence rates of health conditions in retired elite male and female rugby players written in English, Dutch or French and with full text available online were included. Five hundred and seventy-three citations were originally identified and 16 studies were ultimately included in our review. No studies on health conditions in retired elite female rugby players were found. Four individual studies showed there was a significant higher prevalence rate of osteoarthritis in retired elite male rugby players compared with control groups. Various neurocognitive health conditions were investigated and showed, among others, a prevalence rate of 57% for mild cognitive disorder. The prevalence of self-reported depression and hazardous alcohol use in retired elite male rugby players was significantly higher than in control groups matched for age and education. Our review found relatively high prevalence rates of musculoskeletal health conditions such as osteoarthritis and psychological health conditions such as depression and hazardous alcohol use in retired elite male rugby players. More research needs to be conducted to understand better the health conditions of retired elite rugby players, especially among retired elite female players.

Prospective cohort study of long-term neurological outcomes in retired elite athletes: the Advanced BiomaRker, Advanced Imaging and Neurocognitive (BRAIN) Health Study protocol

“…Psychiatric problems such as depression are common in retired athletes, 3 4 10 and this is often associated with cognitive problems, 50 increased levels of anxiety and stress. 16 Chronic pain is also common in retired athletes 51 52 and can itself disrupt cognitive function, 53 and cause depression and anxiety. 54 For example, retired National Football League (NFL) players with a combination of chronic pain and depression were 32 times more likely to report difficulty with sleeping, 9 which is also common in retired athletes.…”

The Impact of Athletic Identity, Psychological Flexibility, and Value Consistent Living on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Retired Elite Rugby Players

“…Typically, studies have concentrated on sports including football (Barth et al, 2021;Gouttebarge et al, 2016a;Sanders & Stevinson, 2017), American football (National Football League; NFL; Hart et al, 2013;Schwenk et al, 2007), as well as Australian rules football (Demetriou et al, 2018;Fortunato & Marchant, 1999). There have been significantly fewer studies investigating former elite rugby players (Brown et al, 2017;Cunningham et al, 2018;Gouttebarge et al, 2016b;Hind et al, 2020;Le Roux et al, 2023;McKenna & Thomas, 2007).…”