[Health prevention for children and adolescents in competitive sports]

The promotion of sport talents in Germany is federally standardised. Apart from the training and management support, annual sports-medical investigations with standardised procedures are mandatory for athletes' health and safety. For the first time, this study evaluates the prevalence ratio of medical findings in Hessian top athletes. The data of all athletes presenting in one of the 27 licenced examination centres in Hesse during the period of investigation were evaluated for age, sex and sports discipline as well as medical findings and a trinomial classification of the sports-related health status. The completeness of this collection in the relevant period from November 2006 to October 2007 was assured by cross-checking the application charts of all related sports associations. Data of 1620 (m: 904, 14.8 +/- 2.5 years; w: 716, 14.3 +/- 2.6 years) of all 1713 athletes presenting during the evaluation period were used for analysis. Medical findings (e. g., resulting in follow-up evaluation or further consultations) were seen in 83.5 % of all athletes. A small group (3.6 %) was temporarily, and one single athlete was completely exempted from sports participation. These results underline (additionally to the preventive capability of sports-medical investigations) the need for an annual medical consultation of juvenile athletes. Further investigations should be extended to other districts and classes and might evaluate the direct and indirect costs of diseases.