814 MEP111 – Exploring associations between positive responses to a periodic health evaluation (PHE) questionnaire and athlete availability to train

AbstractBackground Existing studies have shown that athlete availability to train is a key determinant of performance. This study explores whether positive responses to a PHE questionnaire are associated with athlete availability and therefore could be used to inform injury or illness prevention strategies.Objective To assess whether there are any associations between positive responses to a PHE questionnaire and athlete availability within a related group of three sports.Design Retrospective cross-sectional review of electronic medical records and completed PHE questionnaires.Setting Three British Olympic & Paralympic sportsParticipants 88 full-time Olympic & Paralympic sport athletes (45 men, 43 women; 60 Olympic athletes, 28 Paralympic)Interventions There were no interventions.Main Outcome Measurements The association between positive responses to a PHE questionnaire related to dermatology, mental health, sleep, bowel health, respiratory health, menstrual cycle dysfunction and concussion, and athlete availability to train.Results 60% of female athletes and 44% of male athletes (48% of Olympic sport and 54% of Paralympic sport) had at least one positive response.There was slight association between athlete unavailability and positive responses for mental health (Cohen's kappa 0.34), menstrual cycle dysfunction (k=0.21) and sleep question (k=0.2).Conclusions There is some association between positive responses to elements of a PHE questionnaire and athlete availability for training. Further work is required to understand causation between the responses and availability before appropriate prevention strategies can be developed to target the priorities for male and female, and Olympic and Paralympic sport athletes.