{
  "abstract": "Objective To systematically review and synthesise the incidence and characteristics of injuries and illnesses among athletes participating in the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Paralympic Games.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis.Data sources PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science were searched up to 2 July 2024, and Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform up to 12 December 2023.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Cohort studies conducted during the Games reporting injuries and illnesses among athletes. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for prevalence studies, and certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework.Results 27 articles were included (10 Olympic, 4 Youth Olympic and 13 Paralympic Games). 23 articles had low, 3 moderate and 1 high risk of bias. Certainty of evidence was high to moderate for Olympic, high to low for Youth Olympic and low for Paralympic Games. Injury incidences per 1000 athlete-days were 6.5 (95% CI 5.9 to 7.2) during Olympic, 10.5 (95% CI 9.4 to 11.8) during Youth Olympic and 14.3 (95% CI 9.9 to 20.7) during Paralympic Games. Illness incidences per 1000 athlete-days were 3.6 (95% CI 2.8 to 4.7), 6.9 (95% CI 6.1 to 7.8) and 9.7 (95% CI 6.5 to 14.4), respectively. Lower limb injuries were frequent during Olympic and Youth Olympic Games, upper limb injuries during Paralympic Games and respiratory illnesses across all Games cohorts.Conclusions Injury and illness incidences were highest in Paralympic Games, followed by Youth Olympic and Olympic Games. Incidences and patterns of injury and illness were sport and context specific, which could inform future prevention strategies.PROSPERO registration number CRD42023475334.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Unit of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden",
        "Sport Without Injury ProgrammE (SWIPE), Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden"
      ],
      "name": "Kalle Torvaldsson"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Rehabilitation Medicine Research Group, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden"
      ],
      "name": "Kristina Fagher"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Department of Exercise, Sport and Lifestyle Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa",
        "IOC Research Center, Stellenbosch, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Wayne Derman"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland",
        "Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Lars Engebretsen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Unit of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden",
        "Sport Without Injury ProgrammE (SWIPE), Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden"
      ],
      "name": "Hanna Lindblom"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Alexandre Dias Lopes"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Department of Exercise, Sport and Lifestyle Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa",
        "IOC Research Center, Stellenbosch, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Phoebe Runciman"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "IOC Research Center, Stellenbosch, South Africa",
        "Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Martin Schwellnus"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland"
      ],
      "name": "Torbjørn Soligard"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Unit of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden",
        "Sport Without Injury ProgrammE (SWIPE), Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden"
      ],
      "name": "Sofi Sonesson"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Kathrin Steffen"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Unit of Physiotherapy, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden",
        "Sport Without Injury ProgrammE (SWIPE), Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden"
      ],
      "name": "Martin Hägglund"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Injury and illness epidemiology in elite athletes during the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Paralympic Games: a systematic review and meta-analysis",
  "uid": "0e880d7a-6b3b-5520-a587-b93df6bd2a66"
}