Teixeira Eduardo, Silva Carlos, Romero Félix, Costa João Paulo, Vicente António
Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal.
Life Quality Research Centre, Polytechnic Institute of Santarem, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal.
Sports (Basel). 2024 Jul 23;12(8):200. doi: 10.3390/sports12080200.
The demands of playing professional football can have an impact on an individual's quality of life (QoL), which may remain into retirement. Given limited evidence exists regarding the QoL in former football players, this study aimed to assess QoL among Portuguese former players according to career duration, career end period, competitive level, tactical-positional status, international status, academic qualifications, serious injuries in career, and current professional football connection.
The study included 84 Portuguese former football players (48.8 ± 8.2 years old) who transitioned to retirement between 1988 and 2018. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to assess QoL perceptions, and the Portuguese version was validated.
The former players have positive QoL indicators, both in general and across the four domains, namely in terms of the physical, psychological, and social relationship and environment. There were no statistically significant differences in QoL between the defined categories for career end period, competitive level, tactical-positional status, international status, and current professional football connection. Likewise, there was no significant correlation between QoL and career duration. In contrast, there were significant differences in general QoL ( < 0.023) and in the physical domain ( < 0.001) between former players with different academic qualifications. A significant correlation was found between the number of severe injuries sustained in a career and QoL in the physical domain (R = -0.300, = 0.006).
There are no concerning QoL results presented by former players. However, the number of severe injuries sustained during the career was associated with a lower QoL, while holding higher academic qualifications demonstrated higher general and physical QoL. Studies with larger samples should be conducted to confirm these trends.
从事职业足球运动的要求可能会对个人生活质量（QoL）产生影响，这种影响可能会持续到退役后。鉴于关于前足球运动员生活质量的证据有限，本研究旨在根据职业生涯时长、职业生涯结束时期、竞技水平、战术位置状态、国际比赛经历、学历、职业生涯中的重伤情况以及当前与职业足球的联系，评估葡萄牙前足球运动员的生活质量。
该研究纳入了84名在1988年至2018年期间退役的葡萄牙前足球运动员（年龄48.8±8.2岁）。使用世界卫生组织生活质量简表（WHOQOL - BREF）问卷来评估生活质量感知，且葡萄牙语版本已得到验证。
前足球运动员在总体以及四个领域（即身体、心理、社会关系和环境方面）均有积极的生活质量指标。在职业生涯结束时期、竞技水平、战术位置状态、国际比赛经历和当前与职业足球的联系等定义类别之间，生活质量没有统计学上的显著差异。同样，生活质量与职业生涯时长之间也没有显著相关性。相比之下，不同学历的前足球运动员在总体生活质量（<0.023）和身体领域（<0.001）存在显著差异。在职业生涯中遭受的重伤数量与身体领域的生活质量之间发现了显著相关性（R = -0.300，P = 0.006）。
前足球运动员的生活质量结果并无令人担忧之处。然而，职业生涯中遭受的重伤数量与较低的生活质量相关，而较高的学历则显示出较高的总体和身体生活质量。应进行更大样本量的研究以证实这些趋势。
