Elite Athletes 2x More Likely to Need Hip Arthroplasty

Both male and female elite athletes have an increased total hip arthroplasty risk compared with the general population, a new study finds.

The study, “Risk of total hip arthroplasty after elite sport: linking 3304 former world-class athletes with the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register,” was published online on December 7, 2022, in The British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“At present, there is no cure for osteoarthritis, but severe hip joint degeneration can require total hip arthroplasty. The literature on osteoarthritis after elite sport is limited,” the researchers wrote.

For the study, the Norway-based research group linked a cohort of former Norwegian world-class athletes which included 1,402 females and 1,902 males, active 1936-2006, to the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register. Total hip arthroplasties were performed between 1987-2020.

The team assessed the total hip arthroplasty risk for different sport disciplines, joint impact categories of sport disciplines, and sex. For reference, the research group used the known corresponding general Norwegian population risk of needing a total hip arthroplasty.

After reviewing their data, the research team found that the study group of former elite athletes at age 75 years had a risk for total hip arthroplasty that was about twice that of the reference group (SIR 2.11, 95% CI 1.82 to 2.40). Total hip arthroplasty risk at age 75 years, the team found, 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 1.97 to 2.70) for male athletes.

Among males, the team found that 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).

Study authors include Daniel Hoseth Nilsen of Haukeland University Hospital in Norway, Ove Furnes of Haukeland University Hospital and the University of Bergen, Gard Kroken of Haukeland University, Trude Eid Robsahm of the Cancer Registry of Norway in Oslo, Norway, Marianne Bakke Johnsen of Oslo Metropolitan University in Oslo, Norway, Lars Engebretsen of Oslo University Hospital, Lars Nordsletten of Oslo University Hospital, Roald Bahr of Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo and Stein Atle of Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway.