ACSM pre-participation health screening guidelines: a UK university cohort perspective.

PURPOSE: Pre-participation health screening is recommended to detect individuals susceptible to serious adverse cardiovascular complications during exercise. Although expert opinion and best available scientific evidence have informed recent modifications, there remains limited experimental data to support or refute current practice. We therefore aimed to quantify the impact of change to the ACSM pre-participation health screening guidelines on risk classification and referral for medical clearance in a large cohort of undergraduate university students. METHODS: Participants attended the laboratory on a single occasion to undergo pre-participation health screening. Information concerning health status was obtained via self-report questionnaire and objective physiological assessment with all data recorded electronically and evaluated against ACSM screening guidelines (9 and 10 Edition). RESULTS: Five-hundred and fifty-three students completed the study. The 9th Edition screening guidance resulted in eighty-two (15%) subjects classified as high-risk, almost one quarter (24%) classified as moderate-risk, and almost two-thirds (61%) classified as low-risk. In comparison, the updated 10 Edition screening guidance resulted in a significant reduction in those previously classified as either high-risk (5%) or moderate risk (2%), respectively. The majority of subjects (93%) were therefore cleared to begin a structured exercise programme. Taken together, approximately one-third (32%) fewer medical referrals were required when applying the updated 10 Edition guidance (χ (4) = 247.7, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The updated ACSM 10 Edition pre-participation screening guidance reduces medical referrals by approximately one-third. These findings are in keeping with previous reports and thus serve to consolidate and justify recent modification - particularly when applied to young adult or adolescent populations. The findings and arguments presented should be used to refine and inform future guidance.