Abstract—Recently, the health of retired National Football League players, particularly lineman has been investigated. A number of studies have reported increased cardiometabolic risk, premature cardiovascular disease and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Rugby union players have somatotypes very similar to National Football League players which suggests that rugby players may have similar health risks. The International Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival (GORF) provided a unique opportunity to investigate the demographics of veteran rugby players. METHODOLOGIES: A cross-sectional, observational study was completed using an online web-based questionnaire that consisted of medical history and physiological measures. Data analysis was completed using a one sample t-test (<50yrs versus > 50yrs) and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 216 veteran rugby competitors (response rate = 6.8%) representing 10 countries, aged 35-72 yrs (mean 51.2, S.D. ±8.0), participated in the online survey. As a group, the incidence of current smokers was low at 8.8% (avg 72.4 cigs/wk) whilst the percentage consuming alcohol was high (93.1% (avg 11.2 drinks/wk). Competitors reported the following top six chronic diseases/disorders; hypertension (18.6%), arthritis (OA/RA, 11.5%), asthma (9.3%), hyperlipidemia (8.2%), diabetes (all types, 7.5%) and gout (6%), there were significant differences between groups with regard to cancer (all types) and migraines. When compared to the Australian general population (Australian Bureau of Statistics data, n=18,000), GORF competitors had a significantly lower incidence of anxiety (p<0.01), arthritis (p<0.06), depression (p<.01) however, a significantly higher incidence of diabetes (p<0.03) and hypertension (p<0.01). The GORF competitors also reported taking the following prescribed medications; antihypertensive (13%), hypolipidemics (8%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (6%), and anticoagulants (4%). Significant differences between groups were observed in A/Professor Mike Climstein (corresponding author) is with the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, Qld 4229, Australia. (email: michael_climstein@bond.edu). Mr Joe Walsh and Dr Stephen Burke are with the School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, 25A Barker Road, Strathfield, Sydney, NSW, 2016, Australia (e-mail: joe.walsh@acu.edu.au, stephen.burke@acu.edu.au). Dr John Best is with Orthosports, 160 Belmore Rd., Randwick, Sydney,NSW 2031, Australia (e-mail: bestfam@bigpond.net.au) and was the Chief Medical Officer, GORF 2010. A/Professor Ian Timothy Heazlewood is with School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Faculty Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University, Precinct Yellow Building 2, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia (e-mail: ian.heazlewood@cdu.edu.au). Professor Jyrki Kettunen is with Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Jan-Magnus Janssonin aukio 1, FI-00550, Helsinki, Finland (e-mail: jyrki.kettunen@orton.fi). Professor Kent Adams is with California State University Monterey Bay, Kinesiology Department, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA., 93955, USA (e- mail: kadams@csumb.edu). A/Professor Mark DeBeliso is with Department of Physical Education and Human Performance, Southern Utah University, 351 West University Blvd, Cedar City, Utah, USA (e-mail: markdebeliso@suu.edu). antihypertensives, anticoagulants and hypolipidemics. There were significant (p<0.05) differences between groups (<50yrs versus > 50yrs) with regard to height (180 vs 177cm), weight (97.6 vs 93.1Kg’s), BMI (30 vs 29.7kg/m 2 ) and waist circumference (85.7 vs 93.1cm) however, there were no differences in subsequent parameters of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides-C or fasting plasma glucose. CONCLUSIONS: This represents the first collection of demographics on this cohort. GORF participants demonstrated increased cardiometabolic risk with regard to the incidence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Preventative strategies should be developed to reduce this risk with education of these risks for future participants. Keywords—Masters athlete, rugby union, risk factors, chronic disease I. INTRODUCTION HE Australia Rugby Union reported in 2008 that over 183,000 individuals are competing in rugby in Australia, doubling since the sport gained professional status. On a global scale, it has been estimated that five million men and women compete in rugby union matches in 117 countries. Surprisingly, the majority of research in rugby union has focused upon injuries, including catastrophic injury (cervical spinal injuries) and strength training and conditioning. Recently, the health of professional national football league players has been investigated. Seldon et al. [1] reported increased prevalence of cardiometabolic syndrome in current NFL players and Chang and colleagues [2] had a higher incidence of impaired fasting glucose and hyperlipidemia. Tucker et al. [3] reported a higher incidence of hypertension and increased body mass index (BMI). Miller and colleagues [4] reported a prevalence of metabolic syndrome in excess of 60 percent in retired NFL players. Miller [4] concludes that this increased incidence may explain the increased risk of cardiovascular death in retired lineman. It is well understood that long-term participation in exercise is associated with risk reduction to a number of chronic diseases and disorders however, Hu and colleagues [5] have reported that despite the proposed benefits of risk reduction, the risk is not completely eliminated. Rugby union competitors may be considered a sporting cohort similar to the football lineman and consequently a population at risk. Olds [6] has previously reported that body mass and BMI in male rugby players were higher than that of the general male population, and demonstrating a rate of increase well above the general population (mass Mike Climstein, Joe Walsh, John Best, Ian Timothy Heazlewood, Stephen Burke, Jyrki Kettunen, Kent Adams, Mark DeBeliso Incidence of Chronic Disease and Lipid Profile in Veteran Rugby Athletes T World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Health and Medical Engineering Vol:5, No:8, 2011 362 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 5(8) 2011 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/10563 International Science Index, Health and Medical Engineering Vol:5, No:8, 2011 waset.org/Publication/10563