Abstract
Objective
This systematic review summarises reports of the incidence of exertional heat illnesses
(EHI) in organised sports, to examine any trends in the EHI incidence over time, and
to describe EHI incidence based on sporting activity, geographic location, and type
of EHI.
Method
Three electronic databases (CINAHL, PubMed, SportDiscuss) were searched from inception
to January 2019. Original data in all epidemiological studies (any design except case-studies
and case-series) that reported EHI incidence data in organised sports, across all
age categories, and published in an English language peer-reviewed journal were included.
Results
The primary search yielded 3556 results of which 62 studies were included in the final
analysis, with 71% being from the USA. Reported EHI incidence rates ranged from 0.01
(cheerleading) to 4.19 (American football) per 1000 athletic-exposures (AEs), and
0.01 (mini-marathon) to 54.54 (desert ultra-marathon) per 100 participants. Endurance
type events (running, cycling, adventure races) reported the highest EHI incidence
rates per 100 participants. There was a considerable increase in EHI fatalities reported
in the literature over the last three decades in American football and an increased
reporting of EHI incidence in endurance type events during the last 5-years.
Conclusion
Use of different terminology and injury definitions in most studies have resulted
in an inconsistency in reporting EHI incidence data, and also likely underreporting
of less-severe forms of EHI conditions. Longitudinal studies focused on different
sports and conducted in more countries (outside the USA), are needed for better understanding
the global impact of EHI and the impact of prevention measures.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: February 14, 2020
Accepted:
February 7,
2020
Received in revised form:
January 13,
2020
Received:
October 29,
2019
Identification
Copyright
Crown Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia. All rights reserved.
