PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Nilsen, Daniel Hoseth
AU  - Furnes, Ove
AU  - Kroken, Gard
AU  - Robsahm, Trude Eid
AU  - Johnsen, Marianne Bakke
AU  - Engebretsen, Lars
AU  - Nordsletten, Lars
AU  - Bahr, Roald
AU  - Lie, Stein Atle
TI  - Risk of total hip arthroplasty after elite sport: linking 3304 former world-class athletes with the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register
AID  - 10.1136/bjsports-2022-105575
DP  - 2023 Jan 01
TA  - British Journal of Sports Medicine
PG  - 33--39
VI  - 57
IP  - 1
4099  - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/1/33.short
4100  - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/1/33.full
SO  - Br J Sports Med2023 Jan 01; 57
AB  - Objectives At present, there is no cure for osteoarthritis (OA), but severe hip joint degeneration can require total hip arthroplasty (THA). The literature on OA after elite sport is limited. We hypothesise that elite athletic activity increases the risk of receiving a THA later in life.Methods We linked a cohort of former Norwegian world-class athletes (1402 females and 1902 males, active 1936–2006) to the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register (THA performed 1987–2020). We used standardised incidence ratio (SIR), one-minus Kaplan-Meier and relative Cox regression (relative HR, RHR), with 95% CIs, and funnel plots at age 75, to assess THA risk for different sport disciplines, joint impact categories of sport disciplines and sex. The risk of THA for the corresponding general Norwegian population was used as reference.Results We found an overall increased risk for THA for the former elite athletes (SIR 2.11, 95% CI 1.82 to 2.40) at age 75 years, compared with the general population. THA risk at age 75 years was 11.6% for female athletes and 8.3% for male athletes. SIR was 1.90 (95% CI 1.49 to 2.31) for female and 2.28 (95% CI 1.87 to 2.70) for male athletes. Among males, high joint impact sport disciplines were associated with increased risk compared with low-impact sport disciplines (RHR 1.81, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.08, p=0.029).Conclusion Having been an elite athlete was associated with a doubling of THA risk compared with the general population for both sexes. High joint impact sport disciplines were associated with subsequent THA for male athletes.Data are available on reasonable request.