Socioeconomic inequalities in sport participation: pattern per sport and time trends

Background Sport participation is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and is known to be more common among privileged individuals. However, few studies have examined socio-demographic patterns of participation by type of activity. This study aims at quantifying socio-economic inequalities in sport participation by sport type, and to analyse their trend over 15 years. Methods We used 2005-2019 data from the Bus Santé study, a yearly population-based cross-sectional survey of Geneva adults. Sport participation was defined as reporting at least one sporting activity over the previous week; educational level, household income and occupational position were used as indicators of socio-economic position. Socio-economic inequalities in sport participation, and their trend over time, were examined using the relative and slope indexes of inequality (RII/SII). Results Out of 7769 participants (50.1% women, mean age 46 years old), 60% participated in a sporting activity. Results showed that the higher the socioeconomic circumstances, the higher the sport participation (RII=1.78; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.64-1.92; SII=0.33; 95%CI: 0.29-0.37 for education). Relative inequalities varied per sport e.g., 0.68 (95%CI: 0.44-1.07) in football participation and 4.25 (95%CI: 2.68-6.75) in tennis/badminton participation for education. Yearly absolute inequalities in sport participation tended to increase between 2005 and 2019 for household income (β=0.01; P-value = 0.024). Conclusion We observed strong socio-economic inequalities in sport participation in Geneva, with different magnitude depending on the type of sport. These inequalities seemed to increase over the 2005-2019 period. Our results call for tailored measures to promote the participation of socially disadvantaged populations in sporting activities. KEY MESSAGES ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement The Bus Sante study is funded by the General Directorate of Health, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, and the Geneva University Hospitals. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The Bus Sante study was approved by the Institute of Ethics Committee of the University of Geneva (ID 10-030R). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors