Body mass index and serum gamma-glutamyltransferase level as risk factors for injuries related to professional horse racing: a prospective study.

The research article explored the correlation between the body mass index (BMI) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels and their possible impact on the risk of injuries in professional horse racing. The study found that individuals with a low or high BMI and high GGT were more likely to suffer horse racing-related injuries.

Methodology

• The study was conducted at Miho Training Center in Japan, a major horse training facility. It involved 546 male grooms and exercise riders between the ages of 40 to 70 years.
• A baseline health survey was carried out in May 2003 to establish the participants’ BMI and GGT.
• The researchers recorded a total of 93 occupational injuries from June 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005.
• The Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the possible link between injury risk and both GGT and BMI.

Results

• The results showed that grooms and exercise riders with a BMI under 20 kg/m2 or over 25 kg/m2, compared to those with a BMI between 20.0-22.9 kg/m2, had a 2.5 to 3.5 times higher risk of injuries, even after adjusting for age.
• When factors such as age, GGT, smoking habit, and history of injuries were adjusted, the multivariate hazard ratio increased significantly, specifically to 3.5 and 2.4 for grooms and 3.1 and 1.9 for exercise riders.
• The risk of injury for individuals with a GGT of 100 IU/l or higher was 2.0 to 2.5 times greater than for those with a GGT under 60 IU/l. The multivariate hazard ratios were 1.9 for grooms and 2.5 for exercise riders.

Conclusions

• After analyzing the data, the study concluded that individuals working in professional horse racing with low or high BMI and high GGT face a higher risk of injuries.
• The research suggests that monitoring BMI and GGT in horse racing professionals could be helpful in reducing the possibility of injuries.