Pediatric hospitalizations related to sports participation: a 10-year comparative analysis across 18 commonly played sports in the United States

Pediatric sports injuries are common, yet there is limited information on the comparative risk of hospitalization across commonly played sports in the United States. We sought to identify youth sports associated with the highest incidence of hospital admission. Additionally, we sought to analyze temporal trends over the past decade and identify risk factors for admission. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was queried for injuries during 18 sports in patients ages 3–18 from 2014 to 2023. Injury patterns and admission rates were calculated from national estimates. Temporal change in admission rate was assessed using linear regression. Logistic regression models were used to assess age, sex, race, day of week, and sport type as risk factors for hospitalization. An estimated 186,695 admissions occurred during the study period, with an overall admission rate of 1.9%. The sports with the highest number of admissions per year were football (5,857, 31.4% of all admissions), basketball (3,563, 19.1%), and soccer (2,541, 13.6%). Gymnastics had the highest admission rate (3.2%), with 70% of admissions due to upper extremity fractures. Risk factors for hospitalization included male sex (OR 1.64, p p p = 0.001). Football, basketball, and soccer contribute the majority of sports-related hospitalizations, consistent with known rates of participation and injury risk. Gymnastics has the highest admission rate among those presenting to the emergency department, commonly from upper extremity fractures. Males and those injured on the weekend are at increased risk for hospitalization. These findings should inform preventative efforts to reduce the risk of significant injury leading to hospitalization in young athletes.

儿童运动损伤较为常见，但目前美国针对大众普及性运动项目间住院收治相对风险的相关研究数据仍较为匮乏。本研究旨在明确与最高住院收治发生率相关的青少年运动项目；此外，本研究还旨在分析近十年的时间趋势，并明确住院收治的风险因素。本研究调取了2014至2023年间全国电子伤害监测系统（National Electronic Injury Surveillance System）中，3至18岁患者参与18项运动时发生损伤的数据。基于全国估算值计算了损伤类型分布与住院收治率；采用线性回归（linear regression）分析住院收治率的时间变化趋势；通过逻辑回归（logistic regression）模型评估年龄、性别、种族、受伤日期（星期几）以及运动项目类型作为住院收治的风险因素的影响。研究期间估算共有186695例住院收治病例，整体住院收治率为1.9%。年住院收治病例数最多的运动项目为橄榄球（football，5857例，占总收治病例的31.4%）、篮球（basketball，3563例，占19.1%）以及足球（soccer，2541例，占13.6%）。体操（gymnastics）的住院收治率最高，达3.2%，其中70%的收治病例为上肢骨折（upper extremity fractures）。住院收治的风险因素包括男性性别（比值比OR=1.64，p=0.001）。橄榄球、篮球与足球占运动相关住院收治病例的绝大多数，这与已知的参与率及损伤风险相符。在前往急诊科就诊的患者中，体操项目的住院收治率最高，此类病例多为上肢骨折所致。男性以及周末受伤的人群，其住院收治风险更高。本研究结果可为旨在降低青年运动员发生需住院治疗的严重损伤风险的预防工作提供参考依据。