Epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Union

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dc.contributor.advisorSchwellnus, Martinen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorKourie, Alanen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-01-26T10:59:23Z
dc.date.available2016-01-26T10:59:23Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical referencesen_ZA
dc.description.abstractBackground: Illness in athletes is an inevitable part of participation in sports, and can significantly interfere with training, during tournaments or at competition time. The incidence of illness in sports varies in different sporting codes and across different tournaments and competitions. The Super Rugby competition is a particularly demanding 16-week tournament among countries in the Southern Hemisphere, and is associated with a high incidence of illness. In this tournament, 15 rugby union teams compete and play international level matches every week, which involves travel across numerous time zones and therefore may be associated with a higher incidence of illness in players. Objective: The main objectives of this dissertation were to 1) review the epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in tournaments or competitions, and 2) determine which intrinsic risk factors predispose players to illness during the 2010 Super Rugby tournament. Methods: This dissertation consisted of two main phases. In phase I, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken, using evidence-based criteria, to determine which risk factors predispose athletes to illness during tournaments. In phase II, a prospective cohort research study was undertaken, involving 239 players from South Africa and New Zealand, over the 16-week duration of the 2010 Super 14 Rugby Union tournament. For phase II, a pre-season medical questionnaire was administered to determine baseline medical data. Collection of data then took place each day of the competition, beginning 7 days before the first game the team played, and ending when each team played their final game. Each team physician completed a daily "medical illness log" for every player. Booklets were supplied that contained daily illness report forms. Results: The main findings of the review (phase I) were good evidence (level I and II) indicating that 1) international travel, and the duration of a tournament are extrinsic risk factors for illness in athletes, and 2) that prolonged and high intensity training, older age, and nutritional deficiencies are intrinsic risk factors for illness in athletes. The main findings of the prospective cohort study (phase II) were that an increased number of training days in the 2 weeks before the tournament was an independent risk factor for any illness, respiratory system illness, and digestive system illness; the % time spent on endurance training in the 15 weeks before the tournament was an additional independent risk factor associated with respiratory system illness; the use of anti-inflammatory medication was an independent risk factor associated with respiratory system illness. Summary and conclusion: In summary, novel intrinsic risk factors for illness in rugby players participating in the Super Rugby tournament were training more days/hours per week in the 2 weeks before the tournament, as well as endurance-type training 15 weeks before the tournament. These data can form the basis of planning preventative strategies to reduce the risk of illness in the Super Rugby tournament.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationKourie, A. (2015). <i>Epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Union</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,MRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicine. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16552en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationKourie, Alan. <i>"Epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Union."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,MRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicine, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16552en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKourie, A. 2015. Epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Union. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Kourie, Alan AB - Background: Illness in athletes is an inevitable part of participation in sports, and can significantly interfere with training, during tournaments or at competition time. The incidence of illness in sports varies in different sporting codes and across different tournaments and competitions. The Super Rugby competition is a particularly demanding 16-week tournament among countries in the Southern Hemisphere, and is associated with a high incidence of illness. In this tournament, 15 rugby union teams compete and play international level matches every week, which involves travel across numerous time zones and therefore may be associated with a higher incidence of illness in players. Objective: The main objectives of this dissertation were to 1) review the epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in tournaments or competitions, and 2) determine which intrinsic risk factors predispose players to illness during the 2010 Super Rugby tournament. Methods: This dissertation consisted of two main phases. In phase I, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken, using evidence-based criteria, to determine which risk factors predispose athletes to illness during tournaments. In phase II, a prospective cohort research study was undertaken, involving 239 players from South Africa and New Zealand, over the 16-week duration of the 2010 Super 14 Rugby Union tournament. For phase II, a pre-season medical questionnaire was administered to determine baseline medical data. Collection of data then took place each day of the competition, beginning 7 days before the first game the team played, and ending when each team played their final game. Each team physician completed a daily "medical illness log" for every player. Booklets were supplied that contained daily illness report forms. Results: The main findings of the review (phase I) were good evidence (level I and II) indicating that 1) international travel, and the duration of a tournament are extrinsic risk factors for illness in athletes, and 2) that prolonged and high intensity training, older age, and nutritional deficiencies are intrinsic risk factors for illness in athletes. The main findings of the prospective cohort study (phase II) were that an increased number of training days in the 2 weeks before the tournament was an independent risk factor for any illness, respiratory system illness, and digestive system illness; the % time spent on endurance training in the 15 weeks before the tournament was an additional independent risk factor associated with respiratory system illness; the use of anti-inflammatory medication was an independent risk factor associated with respiratory system illness. Summary and conclusion: In summary, novel intrinsic risk factors for illness in rugby players participating in the Super Rugby tournament were training more days/hours per week in the 2 weeks before the tournament, as well as endurance-type training 15 weeks before the tournament. These data can form the basis of planning preventative strategies to reduce the risk of illness in the Super Rugby tournament. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Union TI - Epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Union UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16552 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16552
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationKourie A. Epidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Union. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,MRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicine, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16552en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentMRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicineen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherSport and Exercise Medicineen_ZA
dc.titleEpidemiology and risk factors for illness in athletes participating in sport tournaments or competitions - a specific focus on Rugby Unionen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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