General health complaints and sleep associated with new injury within an endurance sporting population: A prospective study

Abstract Objective To examine the association between subjective health complaints, sleep quantity and new injury within an endurance sport population. Design Prospective cohort study. Methods Ninety-five endurance sporting participants were recruited from running, triathlon, swimming, cycling and rowing disciplines. Over 52-week period participants submitted weekly data regarding subjective health complaints (SHCs) (cardiorespiratory, gastrointestinal and psychological/lifestyle), sleep quantity, training load and new injury episodes. Applying a 7- and 14-day lag period, a shared frailty model was used to explore new injury risk associations with total SHCs and sleep quantity. Results 92.6% of 95 participants completed all 52 weeks of data submission and the remainder of the participants completed ≥ 30 weeks. Seven-day lag psychological/lifestyle SHCs were significantly associated with new injury risk (Hazard ratio (HR) = 1.32; CI 95% = 1.01-1.72, p  7 hrs/day sleep quantity (HR = 0.63, CI 95% = 0.45-0.87, p  Conclusions To minimise an increased risk of new injuries within an endurance sporting population, this study demonstrates that psychological/lifestyle subjective health complaints and sleep quantity should be considered. The study also highlights a lag period between low sleep quantity and its subsequent impact on new injury risk. No association was demonstrated between subjective health complaints, sleep quantity and training load factors.