Physiological and Pathology Demographics of Veteran Rugby Athletes: Golden Oldies Rugby Festival
Recently, the health of retired National Football
League players, particularly lineman has been investigated. A number of studies have reported increased cardiometabolic risk, premature ardiovascular disease and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Rugby union players have somatotypes very similar
to National Football league players which suggest that rugby players may have similar health risks. The International Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival (GORF) provided a
unique opportunity to investigate the demographics of veteran rugby players. METHODOLOGIES: A cross-sectional, observational study was completed using an online web-based
questionnaire that consisted of medical history and
physiological measures. Data analysis was completed using a one sample t-test (<50yrs versus >50yrs) and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 216 veteran rugby competitors
(response rate = 6.8%) representing 10 countries, aged 35-72 yrs (mean 51.2, S.D. ±8.0), participated in the online survey. As a group, the incidence of current smokers was low at 8.8%
(avg 72.4 cigs/wk) whilst the percentage consuming alcohol
was high (93.1% (avg 11.2 drinks/wk). Competitors reported
the following top six chronic diseases/disorders; hypertension
(18.6%), arthritis (OA/RA, 11.5%), asthma (9.3%),
hyperlipidemia (8.2%), diabetes (all types, 7.5%) and gout (6%), there were significant differences between groups with
regard to cancer (all types) and migraines. When compared to
the Australian general population (Australian Bureau of Statistics data, n=18,000), GORF competitors had a
Climstein Mike, Walsh Joe (corresponding author) and Burke Stephen
School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, 25A Barker Road,
Strathfield, Sydney, NSW, 2016, Australia (e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]).
John Best is with Orthosports, 160 Belmore Rd., Randwick, Sydney,NSW
2031, Australia (e-mail: [email protected]).
Heazlewood, Ian Timothy is with School of Environmental and Life
Sciences, Faculty Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University,
Precinct Yellow Building 2, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia
(e-mail: [email protected]).
Kettunen Jyrki Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Jan-Magnus
Janssonin aukio 1, FI-00550, Helsinki, Finland (e-mail:
[email protected]).
Adams Kent is with California State University Monterey Bay, Kinesiology Department, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA., 93955, USA (email: [email protected]).
DeBeliso Mark is with Department of Physical Education and Human
Performance, Southern Utah University, 351 West University Blvd, Cedar
City, Utah, USA (e-mail: [email protected]).
significantly lower incidence of anxiety (p<0.01), arthritis
(p<0.06), depression (p<.01) however, a significantly higher incidence of diabetes (p<0.03) and hypertension (p<0.01). The GORF competitors also reported taking the following
prescribed medications; antihypertensive (13%),
hypolipidemics (8%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (6%), and anticoagulants (4%). Significant differences between groups were observed in antihypertensives, anticoagulants and
hypolipidemics. There were significant (p<0.05) differences
between groups (<50yrs versus >50yrs) with regard to height (180 vs 177cm), weight (97.6 vs 93.1Kg-s), BMI (30 vs
29.7kg/m2) and waist circumference (85.7 vs 93.1cm) however, there were no differences in subsequent parameters
of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total
cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides-C or fasting plasma
glucose. CONCLUSIONS: This represents the first
collection of demographics on this cohort. GORF participants
demonstrated increased cardiometabolic risk with regard to the incidence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and type
2 diabetes. Preventative strategies should be developed to
reduce this risk with education of these risks for future participants.
[1] Seldon, M., Helzberg, J., Waeckerle, J., Browne, J., Brewer, J., Monaco, M., Tang, F. & O-Keefe, J. (2009). Cardiometabolic
abnormalities in current National Football League players. American Journal of Cardiology, 103, 969-971.
[2] Chang, A., Fitzgerald, S., Cannaday, J., Zhang, S., Patel, A.,
Palmer, M., Reddy, G., Ordovas, K., Stillman, A., Janowitz, W.,
Radford, N., Roberts, A. & Levine, B. (2009). Cardiovascular
risk factors and coronary atherosclerosis in retired National
Football Leagues players. American Journal of Cardiology,104, 805-811.
[3] Tucker, A., Vogel, R., Lincoln, A., Dunn, R., Ahrensfield, D.,
Allen, T., Castle, LW., Heyer, R., Pellman, E., Strollo, P.,
Wilson, P. & Yates, A. (2009). Prevalence of cardiovascular
disease risk factors among national football league pleayers.
Journal of the American Medical Association, 310(20), 2111-2119.
[4] Miller, M., Croft, L., Belanger, A., Romeo-Corral, A., Somers,
V., Roberts, A. & Goldman, M. (2008). Prevalence of
metabolic syndrome in Retired National Football league players.
American Journal of Cardiology, 101, 1281-1284.
[5] Hu, F., Willett, W., Li, T., Stampfer, M., Colditz, G. & Manson, J. (2004). Adiposity as compared with physical activity in predicting mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 351(26), 2694-2703.
[6] Olds, T. (2001). The evolution of physique in male rugby union
players in the twentieth century. Journal of Sports Sciences, 19,253-262.
[7] Chobanian A., Bakris G., Black H., Cushman W., Green L., Izzo J., Jones D., Materson B., Oparil S., Wright J. & Roccella
E. (2003). The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee
on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure: the JNC 7 report. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289(19), 2560-3672.
[8] Carrington, M. & Stewart S. (2010). Australia-s Cholesterol
Crossroads: An analysis of 199,331 GP patient cholesterol
records from 2004 to 2009. Melbourne, Australia: Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute.
[9] Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010). National health survey:
summary of results, 2007-2008 (Reissue). Canberra, Australia:
Australian Bureau of Statistics.
[10] Aronne, L. (2002). Classification of obesity and assessment of
obesity-related health risks. Obesity Research, 10(2), 105S-115S.
[1] Seldon, M., Helzberg, J., Waeckerle, J., Browne, J., Brewer, J., Monaco, M., Tang, F. & O-Keefe, J. (2009). Cardiometabolic
abnormalities in current National Football League players. American Journal of Cardiology, 103, 969-971.
[2] Chang, A., Fitzgerald, S., Cannaday, J., Zhang, S., Patel, A.,
Palmer, M., Reddy, G., Ordovas, K., Stillman, A., Janowitz, W.,
Radford, N., Roberts, A. & Levine, B. (2009). Cardiovascular
risk factors and coronary atherosclerosis in retired National
Football Leagues players. American Journal of Cardiology,104, 805-811.
[3] Tucker, A., Vogel, R., Lincoln, A., Dunn, R., Ahrensfield, D.,
Allen, T., Castle, LW., Heyer, R., Pellman, E., Strollo, P.,
Wilson, P. & Yates, A. (2009). Prevalence of cardiovascular
disease risk factors among national football league pleayers.
Journal of the American Medical Association, 310(20), 2111-2119.
[4] Miller, M., Croft, L., Belanger, A., Romeo-Corral, A., Somers,
V., Roberts, A. & Goldman, M. (2008). Prevalence of
metabolic syndrome in Retired National Football league players.
American Journal of Cardiology, 101, 1281-1284.
[5] Hu, F., Willett, W., Li, T., Stampfer, M., Colditz, G. & Manson, J. (2004). Adiposity as compared with physical activity in predicting mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 351(26), 2694-2703.
[6] Olds, T. (2001). The evolution of physique in male rugby union
players in the twentieth century. Journal of Sports Sciences, 19,253-262.
[7] Chobanian A., Bakris G., Black H., Cushman W., Green L., Izzo J., Jones D., Materson B., Oparil S., Wright J. & Roccella
E. (2003). The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee
on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure: the JNC 7 report. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289(19), 2560-3672.
[8] Carrington, M. & Stewart S. (2010). Australia-s Cholesterol
Crossroads: An analysis of 199,331 GP patient cholesterol
records from 2004 to 2009. Melbourne, Australia: Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute.
[9] Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010). National health survey:
summary of results, 2007-2008 (Reissue). Canberra, Australia:
Australian Bureau of Statistics.
[10] Aronne, L. (2002). Classification of obesity and assessment of
obesity-related health risks. Obesity Research, 10(2), 105S-115S.
@article{"International Journal of Medical, Medicine and Health Sciences:55261", author = "Climstein Mike and Walsh Joe and John Best and Heazlewood Ian Timothy and Burke Stephen and Kettunen Jyrki and Adams Kent and DeBeliso Mark", title = "Physiological and Pathology Demographics of Veteran Rugby Athletes: Golden Oldies Rugby Festival", abstract = "Recently, the health of retired National Football
League players, particularly lineman has been investigated. A number of studies have reported increased cardiometabolic risk, premature ardiovascular disease and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Rugby union players have somatotypes very similar
to National Football league players which suggest that rugby players may have similar health risks. The International Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival (GORF) provided a
unique opportunity to investigate the demographics of veteran rugby players. METHODOLOGIES: A cross-sectional, observational study was completed using an online web-based
questionnaire that consisted of medical history and
physiological measures. Data analysis was completed using a one sample t-test (50yrs) and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 216 veteran rugby competitors
(response rate = 6.8%) representing 10 countries, aged 35-72 yrs (mean 51.2, S.D. ±8.0), participated in the online survey. As a group, the incidence of current smokers was low at 8.8%
(avg 72.4 cigs/wk) whilst the percentage consuming alcohol
was high (93.1% (avg 11.2 drinks/wk). Competitors reported
the following top six chronic diseases/disorders; hypertension
(18.6%), arthritis (OA/RA, 11.5%), asthma (9.3%),
hyperlipidemia (8.2%), diabetes (all types, 7.5%) and gout (6%), there were significant differences between groups with
regard to cancer (all types) and migraines. When compared to
the Australian general population (Australian Bureau of Statistics data, n=18,000), GORF competitors had a
Climstein Mike, Walsh Joe (corresponding author) and Burke Stephen
School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, 25A Barker Road,
Strathfield, Sydney, NSW, 2016, Australia (e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]).
John Best is with Orthosports, 160 Belmore Rd., Randwick, Sydney,NSW
2031, Australia (e-mail: [email protected]).
Heazlewood, Ian Timothy is with School of Environmental and Life
Sciences, Faculty Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University,
Precinct Yellow Building 2, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia
(e-mail: [email protected]).
Kettunen Jyrki Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Jan-Magnus
Janssonin aukio 1, FI-00550, Helsinki, Finland (e-mail:
[email protected]).
Adams Kent is with California State University Monterey Bay, Kinesiology Department, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA., 93955, USA (email: [email protected]).
DeBeliso Mark is with Department of Physical Education and Human
Performance, Southern Utah University, 351 West University Blvd, Cedar
City, Utah, USA (e-mail: [email protected]).
significantly lower incidence of anxiety (p", keywords = "Masters athlete, rugby union, risk factors, chronic disease.", volume = "5", number = "5", pages = "209-5", }