Short-term economic evaluation of physical activity-based corporate health programs: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Corporate health programs (CHPs) aim to improve employees' health through health promotion strategies at the workplace. Physical activity (PA) plays a crucial role in primary prevention, leading many companies to implement PA-based CHPs. However, there is limited examination in the scientific literature on whether PA-based CHPs (PA-CHPs) lead to economic benefits. This systematic review aimed to summarize the available literature on the economic aspects of PA-CHPs. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted to identify studies focused on PA-CHPs targeting healthy sedentary workers and reporting at least one economic outcome, such as return on investment (ROI), costs, or sick leave. RESULTS: Of 1036 studies identified by our search strategy, 11 studies involving 60 020 participants met the inclusion criteria. The mean (±SD) cost per capita for PA-CHPs was estimated as 359€ (±238€) (95% CI, 357-361€). In 75% of the studies, the net savings generated by PA-CHPs in 12 months were reported, with an average of 1095€ (±865€) (95% CI, 496-1690€). ROI was assessed in 50% of the included studies, with an average of 3.6 (±1.41) (95% CI, 2.19-5.01). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to promoting a healthy lifestyle, PA-CHPs have the potential to generate significant economic returns. However, the heterogeneity among the existing studies highlights the need for standardization and accurate reporting of costs in future research.

Limited diagnostic value of questionnaire-based pre-participation screening algorithms: a "risk-exposed" approach to sports activity.

BACKGROUND: Several pre-participation screening algorithms (PPSAs) have been proposed to assess sports eligibility in different populations. They are usually based on self-administered questionnaires, without further medical assessment if no risk factors are documented. The Med-Ex "Formula Benessere" worksite program includes a complete cardiovascular (CV) screening for all participants. The purpose of this study was to assess PPSAs accuracy in detecting medical and/or CV abnormalities in the general population, comparing the results with the date derived from Med-Ex program. METHODS: The Med-Ex medical evaluation, consisting of medical history, physical examination (including body composition), resting electrocardiogram (ECG) and exercise stress test in 464 male subjects (38.4 aged) was analyzed and matched to several PPSAs - Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) (2002-2020), American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM) (1998-2009-2014-2015), European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR) (2011) - retrospectively simulated. RESULTS: Five-hundred and 67 abnormalities were detected though Med-Ex medical evaluation, and one-fourth (24%) would have been undetected applying PPSA alone. In particular 28% of high blood pressure, 21% of impaired fasting glycaemia, 21% of high Body Mass Index (BMI) values and 19% of ECG abnormalities would have been missed, on average, by all PPSAs. CONCLUSIONS: The simulation analysis model performed in this study allowed to highlight the limits of PPSAs in granting sport eligibility, compared to a medical-guided CV screening. These findings emphasize the importance of a more balanced approach to pre-participation screening that includes a thorough evaluation of the cost/benefit ratio.