Young athletes and health risks
By Kat Carney
CNN Headline News
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Researchers in a recent study concluded that teens and young adults involved in sports were more than twice as likely as non-athletes to die a sudden death.
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(CNN) -- With the obesity epidemic on the rise, U.S. teenagers are encouraged to participate in sports, but a recent study reported in the American College of Cardiology says that for some teens, playing sports without proper medical screening can be deadly.
In fact, researchers concluded that teens and young adults involved in sports were more than twice as likely as non-athletes to die a sudden death.
To come to this conclusion, researchers in Italy looked at more than 1 million young people ages 12 to 35 -- 10 percent of whom were athletes.
It was discovered that most of the cases of sudden death were due to an underlying heart condition like coronary heart disease.
Dr. Roberta Williams of the University of Southern California, who was not involved with the study, says that one explanation for a young athlete's sudden death is that the physical effort and excitement of competitive sports may trigger an abnormal heart rhythm. This could put teens with underlying problems at risk.
Lead author of the study, Dr. Domenico Corrado, recommends that all athletes be screened for underlying heart conditions. He also urges experts to create new screening tools that may one day catch conditions missed today.
IIn an editorial article which accompanied the study, Dr. Williams cautions that the results of this study may not apply to teen athletes in the United States. She points out that the athletes in the study were mostly white, and had genetic makeups and dietary habits that are different from young Americans.
So what does that mean for teen athletes in the United States? Is the rate of sudden death higher or lower than that of the Italians?
Dr. Williams says further research will need to be done to determine that.
