TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Analysis of more than 20,000 injuries in European professional football by using a citizen science-based approach: an opportunity for epidemiological research?
JO  - Journal of science and medicine in sport
A1  - Hoenig, Tim
A1  - Edouard, Pascal
A1  - Krause, Matthias
A1  - Malhan, Deeksha
A1  - Relógio, Angela
A1  - Junge, Astrid
A1  - Hollander, Karsten
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVES: It has been claimed that analyses of large datasets from publicly accessible, open-collaborated ("citizen science-based") online databases may provide additional insight into the epidemiology of injuries in professional football [soccer]. However, this approach comes with major limitations, raising critical questions about the current trend of utilizing citizen science-based data. Therefore, we aimed to determine if citizen science-based health data from a popular online database on professional football players can be used for epidemiological research, i.e. in providing results comparable to other data sources used in previously published studies. <br><br>DESIGN: Retrospective database analysis. <br><br>METHODS: Transfermarkt.com (Transfermarkt; Hamburg; Germany) is a publicly accessible online database on various data of professional football players. All information provided in the section "injury history" of football players from the top five European leagues over a period of ten seasons (2009/10-2018/19) was analyzed. Frequency, characteristics, and incidence of injuries were reported according to seasons and countries, and results compared with three previously published databases (a scientific injury surveillance, a media-based study, and an insurance database). <br><br>RESULTS: Overall, 21,598 injuries of 11,507 players were analyzed from the Transfermarkt.com database. Incidence was 0.63 injuries per player-season (95% confidence interval 0.62 to 0.64) but significant differences between subgroups (countries, years) were found. In comparison to other databases, citizen science-based data was associated with lower injury incidences and higher proportions of severe injuries. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: With few exceptions (e.g., severe injuries), the use of citizen science-based health data on professional football players cannot be recommended at present for epidemiological research.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1440-2440
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2021.11.038
ID  - ref1
ER  -