Sports injuries aligned to predicted mature height in highly trained Middle-Eastern youth athletes: a cohort study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association of maturity status with injury incidence in Middle-Eastern youth athletes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four consecutive seasons (2010–2014), Aspire Academy, Qatar. PARTICIPANTS: Male athletes (age range: 11–18 years) representing four disciplines enrolled and grouped into two categories: individual sports and racquet sports. OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury data collected over four seasons. Athletes’ anthropometric characteristics assessed to calculate age at peak height velocity. Predicted mature heights (PMHs) collected and categorised into four quartiles. Athletes had wrist and hand radiographs for assessment of skeletal age (SA). Early and late maturers with an SA of >1 year older or younger than their chronological age (CA). RESULTS: For the sample (n=67) across all groups, 43 (64%) athletes had one or more injuries: total of 212 injuries, 4.9 injuries per athlete across study. Survival analysis of maturity status using SA found early maturing athletes had two-fold greater injury risk compared with late maturers (HR 2.04, 95% CI 1.15 to 3.61, p=0.015). PMH associated with injury risk (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.08, p=0.006). Athletes in fourth quartile (≥184 cm) had up to two-fold injury risk (HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.42 to 4.08, p=0.001). Racquet and individual sports involved similar injury risk (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.52, p=0.37). CONCLUSION: SA early maturity and PMH gradient were significant predictors of injury in youths.