• Alice Freiberg, Ulrich Bolm-Audorff, and Andreas Seidler.
• Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden; Division of Occupational Health, Department of Occupational Safety and Environment, Regional Government of South Hesse, Wiesbaden; Extraordinary Chair of Occupational Medicine, University of Gießen.
• Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2021 Jan 29; 118 (4): 495549-55.

BackgroundWe address the question whether professional soccer players with and without macroinjury of the knee joint are at an elevated risk for knee osteoarthritis.MethodsA systematic review with meta-analyses was conducted. The study protocol was prospectively registered (registration number CRD42019137139). The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant publications; in addition, forward searching was performed, and the listed references were considered. All steps of the process were undertaken independently by two reviewers, and any discordances were resolved by consensus. For all publications whose full text was included, the methods used were critically evaluated. The quality of the evidence was judged using the GRADE criteria.ResultsThe pooled odds ratio for objectively ascertained osteoarthrosis of the knee was 2.25 (95% confidence interval [1.41-3.61], I2 = 71%). When only radiologically ascertained knee osteoarthrosis was considered, the odds ratio was 3.98 [1.34; 11.83], I2 = 58%). The pooled risk estimator in studies in which knee joint macroinjury was excluded was 2.81 ([1.25; 6.32], I2 = 71%).ConclusionA marked association was found between soccer playing and knee osteoarthritis in male professional soccer players. For female professional soccer players, the risk of knee osteoarthritis could not be assessed because of the lack of data. Knee injuries seem to play an important role in the development of knee osteoarthritis in professional soccer players.

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