Prevalence of chronic conditions in masters games athletes: predictors and comparison to the general population

Fiona Halar; Helen O’Connor; Mike Climstein; Tania Prvan; Deborah Black; Peter Reaburn; Wendy Stuart-Smith; Xiaojing Sharon Wu; Janelle Gifford

doi:10.7717/peerj.18912

Prevalence of chronic conditions in masters games athletes: predictors and comparison to the general population

Fiona Halar, Helen O’Connor, Mike Climstein, Tania Prvan, Deborah Black, Peter Reaburn, Wendy Stuart-Smith, Xiaojing Sharon Wu, Janelle Gifford^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Masters athletes (MA) are typically considered healthier than age-matched non-athletes. However, limited evidence exists on the prevalence of chronic conditions in MA.

Methods: Masters athletes competing at the 2017 Australian Masters Games (n = 4,848) and 2018 Pan Pacific Masters Games (n = 14,455) were invited to complete a survey collecting demographic and health information focused on chronic conditions. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of selected chronic conditions in MA was compared with Australian general population data.

Results: Overall, 817 MA (53.7 ± 10.6 y, 61% female) completed the survey with 48% reporting ≥1 chronic condition. Cardiovascular conditions were less prevalent in MA vs. the general population (11%, 95% CI [9–14%] vs. 30%), as were cardiovascular risk factors, anxiety, asthma, cancers, and depression. The prevalence of osteoarthritis in MA was, however, similar (11%, 95% CI [9–14%] vs. 14%). Older (>50 yr) vs. younger MA were more likely to report osteoarthritis (OR 2.17, 95% CI [1.35–3.48]) and heart conditions (OR 1.85, 95% CI [1.11–3.07]), while younger vs. older MA were more likely to report mental health conditions (OR 1.86, 95% CI [1.23–2.82]). Prevalence of mental health conditions was higher in female vs. male MA (17% 95% CI [13–20%] vs. 8% 95% CI [5–11%]) and younger vs. older MA (18% vs. 10%). Employed MA were less likely than MA who were not employed to report having one or more cancers (OR 0.33, 95% CI [0.16–0.69]), cardiovascular conditions (OR 0.47, 95% CI [0.29–0.79]) and hypertension (OR 0.36 95% CI [0.18–0.73]).

Conclusions: Cardiovascular and other chronic conditions prevalence was lower in MA compared to age-matched non-athletes, highlighting the value of promoting sport involvement in aging individuals as well as for continuation of participation in younger age groups into MA level. Greater participation of younger and female groups in masters sport to improve mental health, and inclusion of people who are not employed should be supported.

Original language	English
Article number	e18912
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	PeerJ
Volume	13
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18912
Publication status	Published - 18 Feb 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright 2025 Halar et al. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

Chronic disease
Healthy aging
Lifestyle conditions
Masters athlete
Older athlete
Public health
Sports

Access to Document

10.7717/peerj.18912Licence: CC BY

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 1.48 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{dfac8f22843f4114b2285eccaa57255a,

title = "Prevalence of chronic conditions in masters games athletes: predictors and comparison to the general population",

abstract = "Background: Masters athletes (MA) are typically considered healthier than age-matched non-athletes. However, limited evidence exists on the prevalence of chronic conditions in MA.Methods: Masters athletes competing at the 2017 Australian Masters Games (n = 4,848) and 2018 Pan Pacific Masters Games (n = 14,455) were invited to complete a survey collecting demographic and health information focused on chronic conditions. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of selected chronic conditions in MA was compared with Australian general population data.Results: Overall, 817 MA (53.7 ± 10.6 y, 61\% female) completed the survey with 48\% reporting ≥1 chronic condition. Cardiovascular conditions were less prevalent in MA vs. the general population (11\%, 95\% CI [9–14\%] vs. 30\%), as were cardiovascular risk factors, anxiety, asthma, cancers, and depression. The prevalence of osteoarthritis in MA was, however, similar (11\%, 95\% CI [9–14\%] vs. 14\%). Older (>50 yr) vs. younger MA were more likely to report osteoarthritis (OR 2.17, 95\% CI [1.35–3.48]) and heart conditions (OR 1.85, 95\% CI [1.11–3.07]), while younger vs. older MA were more likely to report mental health conditions (OR 1.86, 95\% CI [1.23–2.82]). Prevalence of mental health conditions was higher in female vs. male MA (17\% 95\% CI [13–20\%] vs. 8\% 95\% CI [5–11\%]) and younger vs. older MA (18\% vs. 10\%). Employed MA were less likely than MA who were not employed to report having one or more cancers (OR 0.33, 95\% CI [0.16–0.69]), cardiovascular conditions (OR 0.47, 95\% CI [0.29–0.79]) and hypertension (OR 0.36 95\% CI [0.18–0.73]).Conclusions: Cardiovascular and other chronic conditions prevalence was lower in MA compared to age-matched non-athletes, highlighting the value of promoting sport involvement in aging individuals as well as for continuation of participation in younger age groups into MA level. Greater participation of younger and female groups in masters sport to improve mental health, and inclusion of people who are not employed should be supported.",

keywords = "Chronic disease, Healthy aging, Lifestyle conditions, Masters athlete, Older athlete, Public health, Sports",

author = "Fiona Halar and Helen O{\textquoteright}Connor and Mike Climstein and Tania Prvan and Deborah Black and Peter Reaburn and Wendy Stuart-Smith and Wu, \{Xiaojing Sharon\} and Janelle Gifford",

note = "Copyright 2025 Halar et al. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher. ",

year = "2025",

month = feb,

day = "18",

doi = "10.7717/peerj.18912",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

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T1 - Prevalence of chronic conditions in masters games athletes

T2 - predictors and comparison to the general population

AU - Halar, Fiona

AU - O’Connor, Helen

AU - Climstein, Mike

AU - Prvan, Tania

AU - Black, Deborah

AU - Reaburn, Peter

AU - Stuart-Smith, Wendy

AU - Wu, Xiaojing Sharon

AU - Gifford, Janelle

N1 - Copyright 2025 Halar et al. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2025/2/18

Y1 - 2025/2/18

N2 - Background: Masters athletes (MA) are typically considered healthier than age-matched non-athletes. However, limited evidence exists on the prevalence of chronic conditions in MA.Methods: Masters athletes competing at the 2017 Australian Masters Games (n = 4,848) and 2018 Pan Pacific Masters Games (n = 14,455) were invited to complete a survey collecting demographic and health information focused on chronic conditions. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of selected chronic conditions in MA was compared with Australian general population data.Results: Overall, 817 MA (53.7 ± 10.6 y, 61% female) completed the survey with 48% reporting ≥1 chronic condition. Cardiovascular conditions were less prevalent in MA vs. the general population (11%, 95% CI [9–14%] vs. 30%), as were cardiovascular risk factors, anxiety, asthma, cancers, and depression. The prevalence of osteoarthritis in MA was, however, similar (11%, 95% CI [9–14%] vs. 14%). Older (>50 yr) vs. younger MA were more likely to report osteoarthritis (OR 2.17, 95% CI [1.35–3.48]) and heart conditions (OR 1.85, 95% CI [1.11–3.07]), while younger vs. older MA were more likely to report mental health conditions (OR 1.86, 95% CI [1.23–2.82]). Prevalence of mental health conditions was higher in female vs. male MA (17% 95% CI [13–20%] vs. 8% 95% CI [5–11%]) and younger vs. older MA (18% vs. 10%). Employed MA were less likely than MA who were not employed to report having one or more cancers (OR 0.33, 95% CI [0.16–0.69]), cardiovascular conditions (OR 0.47, 95% CI [0.29–0.79]) and hypertension (OR 0.36 95% CI [0.18–0.73]).Conclusions: Cardiovascular and other chronic conditions prevalence was lower in MA compared to age-matched non-athletes, highlighting the value of promoting sport involvement in aging individuals as well as for continuation of participation in younger age groups into MA level. Greater participation of younger and female groups in masters sport to improve mental health, and inclusion of people who are not employed should be supported.

AB - Background: Masters athletes (MA) are typically considered healthier than age-matched non-athletes. However, limited evidence exists on the prevalence of chronic conditions in MA.Methods: Masters athletes competing at the 2017 Australian Masters Games (n = 4,848) and 2018 Pan Pacific Masters Games (n = 14,455) were invited to complete a survey collecting demographic and health information focused on chronic conditions. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of selected chronic conditions in MA was compared with Australian general population data.Results: Overall, 817 MA (53.7 ± 10.6 y, 61% female) completed the survey with 48% reporting ≥1 chronic condition. Cardiovascular conditions were less prevalent in MA vs. the general population (11%, 95% CI [9–14%] vs. 30%), as were cardiovascular risk factors, anxiety, asthma, cancers, and depression. The prevalence of osteoarthritis in MA was, however, similar (11%, 95% CI [9–14%] vs. 14%). Older (>50 yr) vs. younger MA were more likely to report osteoarthritis (OR 2.17, 95% CI [1.35–3.48]) and heart conditions (OR 1.85, 95% CI [1.11–3.07]), while younger vs. older MA were more likely to report mental health conditions (OR 1.86, 95% CI [1.23–2.82]). Prevalence of mental health conditions was higher in female vs. male MA (17% 95% CI [13–20%] vs. 8% 95% CI [5–11%]) and younger vs. older MA (18% vs. 10%). Employed MA were less likely than MA who were not employed to report having one or more cancers (OR 0.33, 95% CI [0.16–0.69]), cardiovascular conditions (OR 0.47, 95% CI [0.29–0.79]) and hypertension (OR 0.36 95% CI [0.18–0.73]).Conclusions: Cardiovascular and other chronic conditions prevalence was lower in MA compared to age-matched non-athletes, highlighting the value of promoting sport involvement in aging individuals as well as for continuation of participation in younger age groups into MA level. Greater participation of younger and female groups in masters sport to improve mental health, and inclusion of people who are not employed should be supported.

KW - Chronic disease

KW - Healthy aging

KW - Lifestyle conditions

KW - Masters athlete

KW - Older athlete

KW - Public health

KW - Sports

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85219656074

U2 - 10.7717/peerj.18912

DO - 10.7717/peerj.18912

M3 - Article

C2 - 39989747

AN - SCOPUS:85219656074

SN - 2167-8359

VL - 13

SP - 1

EP - 16

JO - PeerJ

JF - PeerJ

IS - 2

M1 - e18912

ER -

Prevalence of chronic conditions in masters games athletes: predictors and comparison to the general population

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