The main descriptive and analytic objectives are: Descriptive: To gather epidemiological evidence (prevalence, incidence) about the course of the mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and cardiovascular health (dependent variables) of professional…
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- Tendon, ligament and cartilage disorders
- Mood disorders and disturbances NEC
Synonym
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
The study includes outcomes (dependent variables) related to mental,
musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and cardiovascular health.
Mental health:
- Athletic distress measured with Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire
(self-report).
- Distress measured with Distress Screener from the four-dimensional symptom
questionnaire (self-report).
- Anxiety/depression measured with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire
(self-report).
- Sleep disturbance measured with the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement
Information System short form (self-report).
- Alcohol misuse measured with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test
(self-report).
- Drug misuse measured with the Cutting down, Annoyance by criticism, Guilty
feeling, and Eye-openers Adapted to Include Drugs (self-report).
Musculoskeletal health:
- Severe joint injury and related surgery measured with single questions
(self-report).
- Clinical osteoarthritis (hips, knees, ankles) measured with medical history
and physical examination.
- Radiological osteoarthritis (hips, knees, ankles) measured with radiographs.
- Knee and ankle cartilage quality measured with cone beam computed tomography.
- Joint functions (hips, knees, ankles) measured with American Academy of
Orthopedic Surgeons foot and ankle questionnaire, Knee injury and
Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Physical Function short form and Hip dysfunction
and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score short form (self-report).
Neurocognitive health:
- Concussion measured with single question (self-report).
- Cognitive functions assessed with the neuropsychological CNS Vital Signs
(CNS-VS) online testing system.
Cardiovascular health:
- Blood pressure measured with mercury column sphygmomanometer.
- Lipid profile if available at clubs for total cholesterol, high-density
lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein and triglycerides.
- Cardiac electrical activities measured with a standard 12-lead
electrocardiogram.
According to the available aetiological evidence, the following risk indicators
will be assessed and monitored over time: (family) history of cardiovascular
disease, diabetes mellitus, medication and supplements use, Body Mass Index,
waist circumference, cigarette smoking status, level of physical activity,
saliva sample, employment status (post-retirement), and (family) history of
mental health disorder.
Secondary outcome
NA
Background summary
Transitioning out of professional football is known as a significant and
challenging time in most players* life. Over these pre- and post-retirement
years, professional footballers might face several challenges such as preparing
their second occupational career and adjusting to a new identity, life and
lifestyle, but are also likely to struggle with their mental, musculoskeletal,
neurocognitive and cardiovascular health. Established principally from
cross-sectional studies, the available epidemiological evidence warrants
prospective cohort studies in order to further clarify the course of these
mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and cardiovascular health problems
among professional footballers over their pre- and post-retirement years.
Study objective
The main descriptive and analytic objectives are:
Descriptive: To gather epidemiological evidence (prevalence, incidence) about
the course of the mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and cardiovascular
health (dependent variables) of professional footballers over their pre- and
post-retirement years;
Analytic: To evaluate the potential associations between risk indicators
(independent variables) and the mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and
cardiovascular health (dependent variables) of professional footballers over
their pre- and post-retirement years.
The hypotheses are that (descriptive objective) the health of active
professional footballers differs from the health of retired professional
footballers, and that (analytic objective) professional footballers exposed to
a risk indicator (or a combination of risk indicators) have a higher risk of
developing a health condition under study than those unexposed.
Study design
An observational prospective cohort study with repeated measurements over a
follow-up period of 10 years will be conducted.
Study burden and risks
With regard to the observational character of the study and that data
collection is not invasive, the risk for participants is *null to minimal*.
Participants have benefit by participating in this study: (i) their health will
be monitored over the 10 years, also after their retirement from professional
football; (ii) they will receive regularly a short report about their health;
(iii) they will be offered an After Career Consultation once they are retired
from football; (iv) they will be contacted in case of unusual results during
the study. A group-related benefit of this study is that it will allow to get a
better understanding about when and how adverse adaptations might occur in
professional footballers, allowing ultimately to develop preventive and
curative support measures in order to empower their sustainable health.
Meibergdreef 9
Amsterdam 1105AZ
NL
Meibergdreef 9
Amsterdam 1105AZ
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
Participants (N=240) = (i) be a professional footballer; (ii) being a member of
FIFPRO (Football Players Worldwide; The Netherlands); (iii) 27 (±4) years old;
and (iv) able to read and comprehend texts in English.
Exclusion criteria
None
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL69852.018.19 |