Disordered eating is not associated with musculoskeletal injury in university athletes

Abstract

Athletes have a greater risk of developing disordered eating (DE) behaviours than non-athletes. Literature suggests that DE is associated with injury in female athletes; however, these associations are understudied in both female and male athletes. Our objective was to examine the association between DE and injuries in varsity athletes. In this cross-sectional study, varsity student athletes attending a Canadian university completed an anonymous online survey. The survey included questions regarding demographics, injury occurrence, and the Disordered Eating Screen for Athletes (DESA-6; a score ≥3 is indicative of DE). Athletes were categorized by DE status and injury occurrence. Chi-square tests were performed to assess the relationship between these variables. Musculoskeletal injury frequency was compared between DE and non-DE groups using a Mann–Whitney test. Fifty-six varsity athletes ( N = 37 females, 66.1%) with a mean age of 20.1 ± 1.3 years participated in this study. DE was not associated with injury occurrence ( p = 0.73), and musculoskeletal injury frequency did not differ between DE and non-DE groups ( p = 0.50). However, both injury and DE were prevalent as 73.2% of participants reported injuries and 33.9% had positive DESA-6 scores. These findings highlight the need to address DE and injuries in athletes and could encourage the implementation of strategies to reduce their prevalence in sport. Take home message Musculoskeletal injuries and disordered eating are prevalent in varsity-level athletes but are not associated in our participants.