623 - Association Between Height and Long-Term Risk of Knee Injuries in Athletes: Findings from a 20-Year Matched Cohort Study

Thursday, February 19, 2026

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM AST

Presenting Author(s)

JH

Jared Hall, BS

Medical Student
Howard University College of Medicine
washington, District of Columbia, United States
JP

Jeffrey Palmer, II, BS

Medical Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Hyattsville, Maryland, United States

Co-Author(s)

MM

Miriam Michael, MD

Project Overseer
HUCM
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
JG

Jerry Gibson, n/a

Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
ZB

Zion Beaton, n/a

Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Presenting Author(s)

MS

Malachi Scott, n/a

Medical Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
TC

Tabitha Carson, n/a

Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
BM

Brijon McKinley, n/a

Medical Student
Howard University College of Medicine
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Submitter(s)

JH

Jared Hall, BS

Howard University College of Medicine
washington, District of Columbia, United States

Objectives: Knee injuries are a common cause of disability in athletes, and body morphology may influence injury risk. This study examines whether height is a risk factor for long-term knee injury among athletes using real-world data from a large, global health network.

Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network, comprising 143 healthcare organizations. Athletes were grouped by height into Cohort 1 (66–72 inches; average height) and Cohort 2 (73–78 inches; tall). After 1:1 propensity score matching for age, sex, obesity, underweight, and steroid use, each cohort included 44,590 individuals. The primary outcome was a composite of knee injuries tracked over 20 years. Risk metrics, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate outcomes.

Results: Tall athletes had a higher risk of knee injury (8.0%) compared to average-height athletes (6.9%), with a statistically significant risk difference of -1.0% (95% CI: -0.014, -0.007; p < 0.001). The risk ratio was 0.868, and the odds ratio was 0.859, both favoring the average-height group. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed lower injury-free survival in the tall group (83.3% vs. 85.3%), with a log-rank test p-value < 0.001. The hazard ratio was 0.878 (95% CI: 0.837, 0.921), indicating a 12% higher risk over time for tall athletes. Although average-height athletes had slightly more injury instances, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.068).

Conclusions:
Taller athletes face a modest but statistically significant increased risk of knee injuries and shorter injury-free intervals over 20 years. These findings suggest that height may be a biomechanical risk factor and support the implementation of targeted prevention strategies for taller individuals in athletic settings. Future research should explore modifiable contributors to this height-related vulnerability.