Abstract
Background
Ocular trauma is common in athletes, especially those practicing contact sports. Besides overt injuries, little is known about asymptomatic lesions resulting from repetitive head or ocular trauma. The prevalence of peripheral retinal lesions in elite athletes and the potential risk attributable to participation in contact sports were investigated in this monocentric retrospective study.
Results
The study enrolled 88 professional athletes, predominantly male (80%) with an average age of 26 years, who were screened at the Rothschild Foundation Hospital. All athletes had fundus examination and ultra-wide field retinal imaging (UWF) for both eyes, looking for lesions of the peripheral retina. The screening encompassed athletes from both contact and non-contact sports, with a majority (62%) engaging in contact sports, primarily rugby. The prevalence of peripheral retinal lesions among contact sport athletes was estimated at 36.4% [27.4% − 45.4%], significantly higher than that among non-contact sports athletes (6.1% [3.0% – 11.8%]). The diagnostic efficacy of UWF imaging in detecting these lesions was limited, with a sensitivity of 45.2% [34.1% − 56.2%]and specificity of 93.6% [88.2% − 99.0%] compared to dilated fundus examination.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that peripheral retinal lesions are more prevalent among high-performance athletes participating in contact sports, underscoring the importance of regular ophthalmological assessment in this population.