Women-Specific Health Factors in Community-Level Australian Football Players

Women's participation in Australian Football has increased rapidly since the Australian Football League's Women's launch in 2017. We aimed to describe the sociodemographic factors as well as general medical and women-specific health factors in women playing community-level Australian football. We also sought to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic factors and women's health conditions.

Cross-sectional survey.

Participants were community Australian football players enrolled in a stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial evaluating an injury prevention program for community women's Australian football. The player surveys were completed online via REDCAP®. Data were collated and summarized as frequencies and percentages or means and standard deviations as appropriate.

The most common women's health-specific issues were irregular or absent periods (23.9%) (n = 435), polycystic ovarian syndrome (4.8%) (n = 88), endometriosis (3.6%) (n = 66), and pelvic floor dysfunction (eg, leaking urine when exercising) (3.5%) (n = 34). A total of 478 women (25.6%) (95% CIs, 23.7%-27.7%) reported a history of breast injury. Of these, 385 (80.5%) resulted in pain, 179 (37.4%) in bruising, 18 (3.8%) in swelling, 11 (2.3%) in decreased performance, and 13 (2.7%) in other symptoms. Higher body mass index was associated with a history of breast injury (odds ratio 1.03, 95% CIs, 1.01-1.05, Z = 2.79). Six players reported being pregnant, 41 players were breastfeeding, and 27 players reported they had given birth in the last 5 years. More than 10% of players reported that they regularly relied on their care (6% children; 7% other family members).

Women playing community Australian football reported diverse health experiences, including menstrual irregularities, breast injuries, and conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. A quarter of players reported a history of breast injury resulting in pain, bruising, and decreased performance. These findings highlight the importance of understanding and addressing women-specific health needs to enhance participation, retention, and well-being in community football.