TY - JOUR
T1 - High Number of Medical Conditions Detected in Elite Athlete Periodic Health Evaluations, But Only Mild Consequences
AU - de Vries, Jesse T.
AU - Wiggers, Tom G. H.
AU - Goedegebuure, Simon
AU - Reurink, Guus
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/7/1
Y1 - 2022/7/1
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the number of medical conditions detected by periodic health evaluations (PHEs) in elite athletes, and their consequences for management and medical clearance. DESIGN: Retrospective design. PARTICIPANTS: Elite athletes of various sports in a high-performance program in The Netherlands, in the period between 2009 and 2020. INTERVENTIONS: The PHEs consisted of a questionnaire, general and musculoskeletal physical examination, laboratory blood test, electrocardiogram, pulmonary function testing, and (cardiopulmonary) exercise test. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We extracted and analyzed the medical conditions that led to advice, clinical follow-up, further diagnostic investigation or treatment, and the medical clearance status of the athlete (clearance, temporarily no clearance, or permanently no clearance). RESULTS: We included 721 PHEs of 451 elite athletes. We found 1389 medical conditions that led to advice (n = 923, 66%), clinical follow-up (n = 124, 9%), further diagnostic investigation (n = 190, 14%), treatment (n = 132, 10%), or sports restriction (n = 20, 1%). Only 20 cases (3%) led to temporarily no medical clearance. After further investigation or treatment, no permanent sports restriction was imposed on any of the athletes. CONCLUSIONS: We found a high number of medical conditions detected with a PHE in elite athletes. However, the vast majority of detected conditions were mild, with consequences limited to preventive advice and follow-up. The yield of PHE to detect (potentially) severe pathological conditions seems low. Clinical relevance of PHE in elite athletes and potential future health benefits remain unclear.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the number of medical conditions detected by periodic health evaluations (PHEs) in elite athletes, and their consequences for management and medical clearance. DESIGN: Retrospective design. PARTICIPANTS: Elite athletes of various sports in a high-performance program in The Netherlands, in the period between 2009 and 2020. INTERVENTIONS: The PHEs consisted of a questionnaire, general and musculoskeletal physical examination, laboratory blood test, electrocardiogram, pulmonary function testing, and (cardiopulmonary) exercise test. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We extracted and analyzed the medical conditions that led to advice, clinical follow-up, further diagnostic investigation or treatment, and the medical clearance status of the athlete (clearance, temporarily no clearance, or permanently no clearance). RESULTS: We included 721 PHEs of 451 elite athletes. We found 1389 medical conditions that led to advice (n = 923, 66%), clinical follow-up (n = 124, 9%), further diagnostic investigation (n = 190, 14%), treatment (n = 132, 10%), or sports restriction (n = 20, 1%). Only 20 cases (3%) led to temporarily no medical clearance. After further investigation or treatment, no permanent sports restriction was imposed on any of the athletes. CONCLUSIONS: We found a high number of medical conditions detected with a PHE in elite athletes. However, the vast majority of detected conditions were mild, with consequences limited to preventive advice and follow-up. The yield of PHE to detect (potentially) severe pathological conditions seems low. Clinical relevance of PHE in elite athletes and potential future health benefits remain unclear.
KW - elite athletes
KW - periodic health evaluation
KW - prevention
KW - screening
KW - sport injuries
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133144227&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0000000000001010
DO - https://doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0000000000001010
M3 - Article
C2 - 35762863
SN - 1050-642X
VL - 32
SP - 387
EP - 395
JO - Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine
JF - Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine
IS - 4
ER -