Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1428457
This article is part of the Research Topic Influence of Lifestyle on Cardiometabolic Diseases View all articles

TUM4Health, a holistic student health prevention program. Screening of cardiovascular risk factors in university students

Provisionally accepted
Klaus C. Haggenmüller Klaus C. Haggenmüller 1*Barbara Reiner Barbara Reiner 1Renate M. Oberhoffer Renate M. Oberhoffer 1Nils Olson Nils Olson 1Jochen Weil Jochen Weil 2Thorsten Schulz Thorsten Schulz 1
  • 1 Chair of Preventive Pediatrics, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University of Munich, München, Germany
  • 2 German Heart Centre Munich, Technical University Munich, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Cardio Vascular risk prevention in Germany has a gap between the ages of 20 and 30 years. We established a program for risk group identification in students and analyzed the screenings according to the ACCF/AHA Stages and NYHA functional classification.In a cross-sectional design, 596 participants completed a sports medical and motor performance check-up. We found 6% of the female subgroup in an underweight status. Low blood pressure in 5% of the male and 10% of the female group. Elevated blood pressure in 27% of the male and 12% of the female subgroup. According to ACCF/AHA classification, a percentage of 25.7% were clustered in Stage A, defined as having a high risk for heart failure (HF). Stage B consisted of participants with structural heart disease but without symptoms of HF, the prevalence of this group was 3.2%. In Stage C we assigned 0.7%, respectively four participants, with structural heart disease and prior symptoms (NYHA Stage C1 and C2).Screenings sensitize CV risk factors and detect HF risks at an early age; for freshmen at universities it seems to be the perfect time and place for secondary prevention. The gap in risk prevention can be closed, at least for students, who are an economically important target group. Moreover, we found a higher prevalence of Stage C in the sports-related study population compared to other studies. The risk for HF could be elevated in sports-related faculties. The high prevalence of underweight participants, especially in the female subgroup could also be a specific problem in sports-related groups. Even if not related to CV risks, the awareness of being underweight in combination with offers for a lifestyle change can prevent risks in the future. The same applies to low blood pressure in the female subgroup.

    Keywords: cardiovasccular risk factors, ACCF/AHA practice guideline, Sports & exercise medicine, CPET cardiopulmonary exercise testing, Echocardiagraphy, electrocardiography (ECG), biomarkers

    Received: 06 May 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Haggenmüller, Reiner, Oberhoffer, Olson, Weil and Schulz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Klaus C. Haggenmüller, Chair of Preventive Pediatrics, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University of Munich, München, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.