Association between race history and risk of superficial digital flexor tendon injury in Thoroughbred racehorses.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether race history, including the number of races and total race distance, was associated with risk of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury in Thoroughbred racehorses in Japan.


METHODS
Matched case-control study.


METHODS
515 Thoroughbred racehorses (case horses) that sustained an SDFT injury during training or racing in Japan during 2002 and 951 horses (control horses) without SDFT injury that were matched with case horses on the basis of age and month of the latest race.


METHODS
Variables related to race history were compared between case and control horses by means of conditional logistic regression.


RESULTS
The odds of SDFT injury increased as mean race distance and mean body weight at race time increased. Compared with females that had never competed in steeplechase races, males regardless of steeplechase race history and females that had competed in steeplechase races had higher odds of SDFT injury.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that longer mean distance per race, heavier mean body weight at race time, steeplechase experience, and sex (male) increased the risk of SDFT injury in Thoroughbred racehorses.
Takahashi
Toshiyuki
T
Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 321-4 Tokami-cho, Utsunomiya-shi, Tochigi 320-0856, Japan.
Kasashima
Yoshinori
Y
Ueno
Yoshiharu
Y
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006736:Horses / Q000293:injuries*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012420:Running / Q000293:injuries*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013177:Sports; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*