Around 80,000 people in Germany rely on regular dialysis, which brings significant limitations and a high time burden. For many, this leaves little room for physical activities. Against this backdrop, Prof. Dr. Martin Halle, head of the Department and outpatient clinic for Preventive Sportsmedicine and Sports Cardiology, along with researchers from the Universities of Cologne and Freiburg, investigated how targeted physical training during dialysis impacts the health of patients.
For this groundbreaking study, which clearly demonstrates the positive effects of exercise during dialysis, the research team of the DiaTT Study Group led by Prof. Dr. Martin Halle has now been awarded the Hufeland Prize 2024 by the Hufeland Foundation, represented by the German Medical Insurance Company, the German Medical Association, the German Dental Association, and the Federal Association for Prevention and Health Promotion e.V. This highly prestigious German prevention award, which is endowed with 20,000 euros annually, honors outstanding achievements in health promotion and prevention in Germany. The formal award ceremony took place on November 6, 2024, in Cologne.
"I am extremely pleased that this study on physical training for critically ill patients is being recognized. It supports the concept of 'movement as medicine' and emphasizes that we should integrate the effects of lifestyle into disease treatment in medical research and implement them in healthcare," says study leader Prof. Halle.
Approximately 1,000 patients from 21 dialysis centers across Germany participated in the study. It was already published in the New England Journal of Medicine – Evidence under the title "Exercise during Hemodialysis in Patients with Chronic Kidney Failure." "With this, we have set up the third-largest studies worldwide on physical activity in patients with illnesses," explains Prof. Halle. Over twelve months, 50 percent of the participants completed one to three training sessions per week during their dialysis. The program consisted of 30 minutes of cardiovascular training and another 30 minutes of strength training with weights, balls, and resistance bands, individually tailored to each patient’s capacity.
The results are impressive: participants who exercised during dialysis showed a significant improvement in their health status over the one-year study period and spent only half as many days in the hospital compared to the control group. These positive findings give the research team hope that physical training during dialysis will eventually be established as a standard offering and recognized as a covered service by health insurance.
Prof. Halle is confident. "When sport, health, and medicine come together and cooperate closely, new opportunities arise, as shown by our case study. We should utilize these interfaces to develop sustainable strategies in teaching, research, and healthcare. For this, the new TUM School of Medicine and Health is the ideal place," explains the Medical Director of the Department and outpatient clinic for Preventive Sportsmedicine and Sports Cardiology.
The DiaTT consortium partners, in addition to TUM, were the University Hospital of Cologne, the University Hospital of Freiburg, the Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation Foundation, the German Society for Rehabilitative Sports for Chronic Kidney Disease, the Federal Kidney Association, and the health insurance companies Techniker, AOK Plus, and Barmer State Representation Saxony.
To the video link of the study
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Martin Halle
Department and outpatient clinic for Preventive Sportsmedicine and Sports Cardiology
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 56
80992 Munich
Tel.: 089 4140 6774 (Klinikum rechts der Isar)
Tel.: 089 289 24441 (Uptown Campus)
Email: Martin.Halle(at)mri.tum.de
Text: Jasmin Schol/Bastian Daneyko
Photos : Private