Epidemiology of injuries in elite Korean adolescent football (soccer) athletes: A prospective cohort study

Objectives This study attempted to analyze the injury patterns during training by sex and determine whether cardiopulmonary function and bone mineral density (BMD) were related to the patterns of injuries in elite adolescent footballers. Methods Since 2021, data for consisted of 96 adolescent football athletes (52 men and 44 women) who underwent intensive training in Korea and participated in competitions. For cardiopulmonary function, minute ventilation (VE), volume oxygen maximum (VO2max), and ventilation threshold (VT) were measured. BMD was measured measure systemic BMD and bone mass. The injury incidence rates (IIR) per 1000 training of hours. χ2 tests were performed to compare injury patterns between sex. Simple linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between variables. Results The overall IIR was 4.80 (4.32–5.32) per 1000 h of training. Female had a higher rate than male (p=0.008). We observed differences in injury severity between men and women (p=0.040). Both the cardiopulmonary function and BMD were related to IIR in all athletes. The body regions with the most injuries were the lower extremities (52.05%), trunk (23.84%), upper extremities (16.71%), and head and neck (7.40%). Cardiopulmonary function and BMD were not related to the location of the injury. However, Cardiopulmonary function and BMD were related to the IIR of severe and ligament injury. Conclusion The sex was found to affect rate and severity of injury. Cardiopulmonary function and BMD were related to the injury patterns. Our findings can help promote the performance improvement of elite football athletes and the development of injury prevention program.