Association Between Contact Sports and Colonization with Staphylococcus aureus in a Prospective Cohort of Collegiate Athletes.

Objective: Athletes have a higher risk of infection with Staphylococcus aureus than the general population. Most studies in athletes have included primarily male contact sports participants and have not assessed S. aureus carriage over time. We aimed to examine the epidemiology and risk factors of S. aureus carriage in a cohort of male and female collegiate athletes.

Study Design: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 377 varsity collegiate athletes from August 2008 to April 2010. A baseline questionnaire ascertained risk factors for colonization. Nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were obtained at enrollment and monthly thereafter to detect S. aureus colonization. The primary outcome was S. aureus colonization, both with methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant S. aureus, as defined by bacterial culture and molecular confirmation. Secondary outcomes were time to colonization with S. aureus and carriage profile, defined as non-carrier, intermittent carrier, or persistent carrier.

Results: Overall, 224 contact sports and 153 non-contact sports athletes were enrolled. Contact sports athletes had a higher risk of carrying S. aureus over time: They had higher odds of being colonized with MRSA (OR 2.36; 95 % CI 1.13-4.93) and they tended to carry S. aureus for longer periods of time (intermittent carriage OR 3.60; 95 % CI 2.02-6.40; persistent carriage OR 2.39; 95 % CI 1.21-4.72). Athletes engaged in contact sports also acquired S. aureus more quickly (HR 1.61; 95 % CI 1.02-2.55).

Conclusions: Staphylococcus aureus carriage was common in contact sports athletes. These findings suggest that efforts to prevent transmission of S. aureus among athletes should be focused on contact sports teams.