Background Although figure skating attracts several hundred thousand participants worldwide, there is little knowledge about physical health and sports injuries among young skaters. Objective To describe the health status of a geographically-defined Swedish population of licensed competitive figure skaters and to examine injury determinants. Design Cross-sectional. Setting All licensed competitive skaters in the south-eastern region of Sweden. Participants In total, 142 (36%) of 400 skaters participated, 137 (96%) of whom were girls (mean (SD) age: 12.9 (SD 3.0) years). Participating boys (n=5) were excluded from further analysis. Assessment of Risk Factors Age, skating level, eating habits, relative energy deficiency indicators, and training habits were assessed. Main Outcome Measurements The primary outcome measure was the one-year prevalence of a severe sports injury episode (time loss>21 days). The secondary outcome measure was the point prevalence of an ongoing sports injury. Results The one-year prevalence of a severe sports injury episode was 31%, which in the multiple model, was associated with older age (odds ratio (OR) 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-1.4; p=0.002) and an increased number of skipped meals per week (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.3; p=0.014). The point prevalence of an ongoing injury episode was 19%, which was associated with older age (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.7; p<0.001) and an increased number of skipped meals per week (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.3; p=0.049). Conclusions One-third of young female Swedish competitive figure skaters had sustained a severe injury episode during the past year, and a fifth reported an ongoing episode. Older age and an increased number of skipped meals per week were associated with a sports injury episode. Further prospective studies of injury determinants among competitive figure skaters are warranted before the findings are broadly applied in intervention programs.
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