Kumanu Tāngata: the aftermatch study - protocol to examine the health outcomes of high-level male rugby union players using linked administrative data.
Stephanie D'Souza, Barry J Milne, Chao Li, Francesca Anns, Andrew Gardner, Thomas Lumley, Susan M B Morton, Ian R Murphy, Evert Verhagen, Craig Wright, Ken Quarrie
Author Information
Stephanie D'Souza: COMPASS Research Centre, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. ORCID
Barry J Milne: COMPASS Research Centre, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Chao Li: COMPASS Research Centre, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Francesca Anns: COMPASS Research Centre, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Andrew Gardner: Sydney School of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Thomas Lumley: Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Susan M B Morton: Research Institute for Innovative Solutions for Well-being and Health (INSIGHT), University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ian R Murphy: Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Evert Verhagen: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO, Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands. ORCID
Craig Wright: Social Wellbeing Agency, Wellington, New Zealand.
Ken Quarrie: New Zealand Rugby, Wellington, New Zealand.
There is increasing interest in the potential long-term outcomes of participation in contact and collision sports, driven by evidence of higher rates of neurodegenerative diseases among former athletes. Recent research has capitalised on large-scale administrative health data to examine health outcomes in contact sport athletes. However, there is limited research on outcomes associated with participation in rugby union, a contact sport with a relatively high incidence of head trauma and musculoskeletal injuries. Additionally, there is scope to investigate a greater range of health outcomes using large, population-based administrative data. The Kumanu Tāngata project is a retrospective cohort study that will use linked information from the New Zealand Rugby Register and health records within a comprehensive deidentified whole-population administrative research database known as the Integrated Data Infrastructure. First-class male rugby union players (N=13 227) will be compared with a general population comparison group (N=2 438 484; weighting will be applied due to demographic differences) on a range of mortality and morbidity outcomes (neurodegenerative diseases, musculoskeletal conditions, chronic physical conditions, mental health outcomes). A range of player-specific variables will also be investigated as risk factors. Analyses will consist primarily of Cox proportional hazards models. Ethics approval for the study has been granted by the Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee (Ref. AH23203). Primary research dissemination will be via peer-reviewed journal articles.
