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Sports Medicine
Published in: Sports Medicine 6/2018

01-06-2018 | Systematic Review

Relative Age Effects Across and Within Female Sport Contexts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors: Kristy L. Smith, Patricia L. Weir, Kevin Till, Michael Romann, Stephen Cobley

Published in: Sports Medicine | Issue 6/2018

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Abstract

Background

Subtle differences in chronological age within sport (bi-) annual-age groupings can contribute to immediate participation and long-term attainment discrepancies; known as the relative age effect. Voluminous studies have examined relative age effects in male sport; however, their prevalence and context-specific magnitude in female sport remain undetermined.

Objective

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and magnitude of relative age effects in female sport via examination of published data spanning 1984–2016.

Methods

Registered with PROSPERO (No. 42016053497) and using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis systematic search guidelines, 57 studies were identified, containing 308 independent samples across 25 sports. Distribution data were synthesised using odds ratio meta-analyses, applying an invariance random-effects model. Follow-up subgroup category analyses examined whether relative age effect magnitudes were moderated by age group, competition level, sport type, sport context and study quality.

Results

When comparing the relatively oldest (quartile 1) vs. youngest (quartile 4) individuals across all female sport contexts, the overall pooled estimate identified a significant but small relative age effect (odds ratio = 1.25; 95% confidence interval 1.21–1.30; p = 0.01; odds ratio adjusted = 1.21). Subgroup analyses revealed the relative age effect magnitude was higher in pre-adolescent (≤ 11 years) and adolescent (12–14 years) age groups and at higher competition levels. Relative age effect magnitudes were higher in team-based and individual sport contexts associated with high physiological demands.

Conclusion

The findings highlight relative age effects are prevalent across the female sport contexts examined. Relative age effect magnitude is moderated by interactions between developmental stages, competition level and sport context demands. Modifications to sport policy, organisational and athlete development system structure, as well as practitioner intervention are recommended to prevent relative age effect-related participation and longer term attainment inequalities.
Appendix
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Footnotes
1
The first quartile corresponds to the first 3 months following the sport-designated cut-off date used to group participants by age. For instance, the first quartile in a system using 1 August as a cut-off would correspond to August, September and October.
 
2
An odds ratio (OR) represents the odds, or likelihood, that an event will occur in one group compared to another. In this instance, the OR represents the odds that an athlete will be born in the first quartile (i.e. following a sport cut-off date) compared to the fourth quartile. An OR of one (1.00) would indicate that the outcome under investigation is equal in both groups, while an OR of two (2.00) would indicate the event is twice as likely to be observed in one compared to the other.
 
3
Identification of sample age and/or an age-group breakdown were the most common sources of missing information.
 
4
Participant numbers were estimated from tables (i.e. overall sample numbers and percentage of participants per quartile were provided, but raw numbers per quartile were not available) by calculating an estimation of the number per quartile using the available values and rounding to the nearest whole number if required. Participant numbers were estimated from figures (i.e. presented in a graph but raw numbers per quartile not provided) by extrapolating from the graph using a ruler and rounding to the nearest whole number if required. Estimated samples within studies are coded and highlighted in Table 2.
 
5
Seventeen different countries were named in the literature. However, the total number represented may be larger as some studies reported “international” samples or participants from “across Europe”.
 
6
The Cochran Q test [63] assesses true heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. In essence, Q is a measure of dispersion of all effect sizes (individual studies) about the mean effect size (overall pooled effect) on a standardised scale.
 
7
A funnel plot is a scatter plot of treatment effect (e.g. odds ratio) set against a measure of study size (e.g. standard error). It provides an initial visual aid to detect bias or systematic heterogeneity. In the absence of heterogeneity, 95% of the studies should lie within the funnel defined by the two diagonal lines. Publication bias is suggested when there is asymmetry in the plot.
 
8
‘Trim and fill’ uses an iterative procedure to remove the most extreme (small) studies from the positive side of the funnel plot, re-computing the effect size at each iteration until the funnel plot is symmetric about the (new) effect size. In theory, this yields an unbiased estimate of the effect size. While trimming yields the adjusted effect size, it also reduces the variance of the effects, yielding a (too) narrow confidence interval. Therefore, the algorithm then adds the original studies back into the analysis and imputes a mirror image for each [65].
 
9
The 90th percentile female individual attains adult stature at 20 years of age when a criterion of four successive 6-month increments < 0.5 cm is used [66].
 
10
Fifty-seven studies met inclusion criteria for the systematic review; 44 had useable data that could be included in the overall meta- and subgroup analyses.
 
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Metadata
Title
Relative Age Effects Across and Within Female Sport Contexts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors
Kristy L. Smith
Patricia L. Weir
Kevin Till
Michael Romann
Stephen Cobley
Publication date
01-06-2018
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Sports Medicine / Issue 6/2018
Print ISSN: 0112-1642
Electronic ISSN: 1179-2035
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0890-8

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