Midlife Former College Athletes With Prior Injury Report Greater Pain And Worse Quality Of Life

INTRODUCTION: Intra-articular knee injuries commonly afflict athletes and lead to poor quality of life. Evidence suggests that midlife former college athletes have worse pain, function, and health than age-matched non-athletes. However, this research is limited and does not control for prior injury. PURPOSE: Quantify pain, function, quality of life, and inflammation in midlife former college athletes with and without a prior intra-articular knee injury and controls. METHODS: Midlife (age 40-64 yrs) former athletes who were involved in jumping, cutting, pivoting, contact, and/or collision varsity collegiate sports were divided into two groups: those with 1) a history of an intra-articular knee injury and/or surgery (e.g., ACL tear) and 2) no major lower extremity injury or surgery. Age- and sex-matched non-athlete controls were also tested. Participants underwent a venous blood draw to assess inflammation (C-reactive protein) and completed validated surveys: average pain over the last 7 days; Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS, 5 subscales); PROMIS Global Health; and Graded Chronic Pain. Outcomes were compared across groups using ANOVA (alpha = 0.05). RESULTS: Eighty midlife former college athletes (n = 40 injured, 40 healthy) and 23 controls (mean age 51 ± 7 yrs, 61 female / 42 male) were tested at the time of data analysis. Former college athletes with a prior knee injury had worse outcomes for pain, all KOOS subscales, and PROMIS Physical Health compared to healthy former athletes and non-athlete controls (Table). CONCLUSION: Midlife former college athletes with a prior intra-articular knee injury or surgery report greater pain, poorer function, and lower quality of life than former athletes without a significant lower extremity injury history and non-athlete controls. Interventions to alleviate pain and improve function and quality of life in aging former athletes, particularly those with a prior knee injury, should be developed and tested. - Outcomes reported as means (SD) in injured and healthy former athletes and non-athlete controls. Outcome Injured Former Athletes Healthy Former Athletes Non-Athlete Controls P-Value Average Pain Intensity (0-10) 3.13 (2.16) 1.65 (1.64) 1.48 (1.28) < .001 KOOS Pain (%) 82.2 (18.0) 95.6 (6.5) 96.6 (4.2) < .001 KOOS Symptoms (%) 74.6 (19.4) 91.8 (9.1) 93.5 (5.1) < .001 KOOS Activities of Daily Living (%) 90.4 (11.7) 98.6 (3.0) 98.4 (2.6) < .001 KOOS Quality of Life (%) 66.9 (21.9) 89.5 (13.5) 92.4 (9.0) < .001 KOOS Sport & Recreation (%) 72.5 (25.7) 96.1 (6.5) 96.1 (5.2) < .001 PROMIS Mental Health T-Score 53.7 (7.9) 54.5 (6.4) 57.2 (6.9) .179 PROMIS Physical Health T-Score 51.2 (6.8) 55.1 (5.3) 56.8 (4.8) < .001 Degree to which pain has interfered with your enjoyment of life in the past week (0-10) 2.2 (2.3) .8 (1.5) .8 (1.0) .003 Degree to which pain has interfered with your general activity in the past week (0-10) 2.1 (2.4) .9 (1.5) .6 (.7) .004 C-Reactive Protein (CRP) (mg/dL) .30 (.03) .34 (.18) .35 (.25) .398 NIH grant DP5-OD031833; NIH grant 2UL1TR001436 (supports REDCap)