Key result
Periodic health evaluations in elite athletes lead to temporary sports restriction in only ~3% of conditions.
Why the study?
The clinical relevance and potential future health benefits of periodic health evaluations in elite athletes remain unclear despite detection of many medical conditions.
What is the yield and clinical consequence of periodic health evaluations in elite athletes?
Observational (n=451)
What is the yield and clinical consequence of periodic health evaluations in elite athletes?
Periodic health evaluations in elite athletes frequently detect medical conditions, but these are overwhelmingly mild and rarely result in sports restriction.
PHEs detect many conditions but rarely restrict clearance; leaves open long-term preventive value in elite athletes.
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.
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Vries et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Elite athletes (n=451). Periodic health evaluations (PHEs) was evaluated on Number of medical conditions detected and their consequences for management and medical clearance. Periodic health evaluations in elite athletes detected 1389 medical conditions, but only 3% led to temporary sports restriction and 0% to permanent restriction.
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