Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun;21(6):558-563.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2017.10.013. Epub 2017 Oct 18.

Osteoarthritis and other long-term health conditions in former elite cricketers

Mary E Jones  1 , Madeleine A M Davies  2 , Kirsten M Leyland  2 , Antonella Delmestri  2 , Angus Porter  3 , Jason Ratcliffe  3 , Nick Peirce  4 , Julia L Newton  2 , Nigel K Arden  2
Affiliations

Osteoarthritis and other long-term health conditions in former elite cricketers

Mary E Jones et al. J Sci Med Sport. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the prevalence and risk of chronic conditions in former elite cricketers compared to a normal population, and describe wellbeing in former elite cricketers.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Former elite cricketers, recruited from the Professional Cricketers' Association, completed a self-report cross-sectional questionnaire. The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) served as the normal population. The prevalence of self-reported, GP-diagnosed conditions (heart problems, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, asthma, dementia, osteoarthritis (OA), total hip replacement (THR), total knee replacement (TKR), anxiety, depression) were reported for both population samples. Standardised morbidity ratios (SMRs) compared chronic conditions in sex-, age- and BMI-matched former cricketers (n=113) and normal population (n=4496).

Results: Heart problems were reported by 13.3% of former cricketers, significantly lower than the normal population, SMR 0.55 (0.33-0.91). Former cricketers reported 31.9% hypertension, 1.8% stroke, 6.2% diabetes, 15.0% asthma, and no dementia, none significantly different to the normal population. OA, THR, and TKR were reported by 51.3%, 14.7% and 10.7% of former cricketers, respectively, significantly higher than the normal population, SMRs 3.64 (2.81-4.71), 3.99 (2.21-7.20) and 3.84 (1.92-7.68). Anxiety and depression were reported by 12.4% and 8.8% of former cricketers, respectively, SMRs 3.95 (2.34-6.67) and 2.22 (1.20-4.14). 97% of former cricketers reflected they would undertake their cricket career again, 98% agreed that cricket enriched their lives.

Conclusions: Heart problems were significantly lower, while OA, THR, TKR, anxiety, and depression were significantly higher in the former cricketers compared to the normal population (ELSA). Most former cricketers reflected positively on their career.

Keywords: Aging; Athletes; Heart diseases; Mental health; Prevalence; Sports.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(a) Former cricketers included in analysis, from recruitment to final sample size; (b) normal population (ELSA Wave 1 participants) included in analysis. *Normal population participants aged 50 and over, and matched for age and BMI with former cricketers. **Normal population participants aged under 60 were not asked joint replacement questions (THR, TKR); therefore, participants aged 60 and over in both population samples were matched for THR and TKR.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cricket Australia. Cricket becomes Australia’s No.1 participation sport. Natl Cricket Census 2016. http://www.cricket.com.au/news/cricket-australia-census-participation-nu.... Accessed 21 May 2017.
    1. England and Wales Cricket Board. ECB study shows 1.7 million people playing recreational cricket. 2013. http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/articles/ecb-study-shows-17-million-people-pla.... Accessed 30 November 2016.
    1. Teramoto M., Bungum T.J. Mortality and longevity of elite athletes. J Sci Med Sport. 2010;13(4):410–416. - PubMed
    1. Gouttebarge V., Inklaar H., Backx F., Kerkhoffs G. Prevalence of osteoarthritis in former elite athletes: a systematic overview of the recent literature. Rheumatol Int. 2015;35(3):405–418. - PubMed
    1. Sesso H.D., Paffenbarger R.S., Lee I.-M. Physical activity and coronary heart disease in men. Circulation. 2000;102(9) - PubMed