AB1574-HPR PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS OF FOOT/ANKLE OSTEOARTHRITIS IN RETIRED MALE PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS COMPARED WITH GENERAL POPULATION CONTROLS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Authors: A. Thanoon, S. Espahbodi, M. A. Shuaib, B. Millar, A. Duncan, C. Bowen, R. J. Wakefield, F. E. Watt, D. Walsh, C. Fuller, G. Fuller, M. Batt, G. S. Fernandes, S. M. Parekh, T. O ’neill, M. Doherty, W. Zhang
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Professional football is a risk factor for knee OA, but it is unclear whether it is also a risk factor for foot/ankle OA. <h3>Objectives:</h3> To compare the prevalence of foot/ankle outcomes (pain, GP-diagnosed OA, radiographic OA (ROA), and surgery) between male retired professional footballers and general population control men. <h3>Methods:</h3> A postal questionnaire was sent to 878 footballers and 1060 controls who participated in our previous knee OA study. Pain was defined as "current" (in the past month) and as "ever" (lasting ≥3 months in the past). GP-diagnosed OA and foot/ankle surgery were self-reported. Socioeconomic status in deciles was obtained according to post code. Foot and ankle radiographs were undertaken in those who indicated willingness to have radiographs. ROA was assessed using the La Trobe atlas and defined as osteophyte (OP) ≥2 or joint space narrowing (JSN) ≥2. The adjusted relative risk (aRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using Poisson regression model on self-reported outcomes and foot/ankle ROA prevalence between groups. <h3>Results:</h3> 468 footballers (53%) and 619 controls (58%) completed the questionnaire. Of these, 113 footballers and 319 controls completed the radiographic assessment. Footballers were 4 years younger and had higher socioeconomic status than controls (Table 1). Compared to controls, footballers were more likely to have current foot/ankle pain (aRR 1.32, 95% CI 1.03-1.68), GP-diagnosed foot/ankle OA (aRR 1.79, 95%CI 1.18-2.71), and forefoot/ankle surgery (aRR 2.82, 95% CI 1.94-4.09), but not ever foot/ankle pain (Table 2). Prevalence of foot/ankle ROA did not differ between groups as defined but was significantly different when both OP and JSN ≥2 (i.e., definite OP plus definite JSN) was used to define ROA. The ankle was the most common joint affected by OA in footballers over controls. Both foot/ankle injury and injection were reported more commonly in footballers than controls. Injuries and injections correlated with each other, and the most commoninjection was corticosteroid. <h3>Conclusion:</h3> Professional footballers were more likely to have foot/ankle OA than controls in their post-retirement. Injury and injection were both associated with an increased risk of foot/ankle OA. Further research on preventing injury and reducing injections is needed. Keywords: osteoarthritis; foot/ankle; footballers. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> <b>NIL.</b> <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> The Football Association (FA), Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and Versus Arthritis provided financial support for the study. We are grateful to the footballers and control men in the East- Midlands who participated in the study. <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>