An observational study in Calcifications, Vascular, sponsored by University Hospital, Grenoble. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-18.
Sponsored by University Hospital, Grenoble · Observational
Medial arterial calcification (MAC) is an under-recognized vascular condition that remains poorly characterized from an epidemiological perspective. In the general population, its estimated prevalence is approximately 2.5%, mainly based on ankle-brachial index measurements. In contrast, prevalence exceeds 10% in high-risk populations such as patients with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or established cardiovascular disease, with wide variability depending on the diagnostic method used.
In these populations, MAC is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, including critical limb ischemia, major amputation, and increased cardiovascular mortality, sometimes exceeding the prognostic impact of atherosclerosis. However, data on MAC in healthy individuals are currently lacking, and its clinical significance in this population remains unknown.
Endurance athletes represent a unique population exposed to prolonged and intense hemodynamic stress. Previous studies have reported increased coronary artery calcification in athletes with very high levels of physical activity, and differences according to sporting discipline. Incidental findings of MAC have also been observed in endurance athletes, raising the question of a potential association with training volume and vascular adaptations to long-term exercise.
The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of medial arterial calcification in endurance athletes using ultrasound imaging, and to explore its relationship with training characteristics and cardiovascular risk markers.
82 studies on the registry are indexed under Vascular Calcification; 17 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 80 across 23 observational studies indexed under Vascular Calcification.
Browse Vascular Calcification studies →University Hospital, Grenoble is the lead sponsor of 837 studies on the registry; 207 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Healthy endurance athletes volunteering for the study, engaging in more than 5 hours of high-intensity endurance exercise per week for at least the past 10 years.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
pregnant or breastfeeding women, women in labor, individuals deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision, individuals receiving psychiatric care under articles L.3212-1 and L.3213-1, individuals admitted to healthcare or social institutions for purposes other than research, minors, individuals under legal protection, or individuals unable to provide .
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Healthy volunteer attending a sports medicine consultation for the performance of an exercise stress test\*. Male or female subject. Age between 18 and 70 years, inclusive. High-level endurance athlete, with regular practice of endurance sports (trail running, road running, cycling, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon), with a MET-min/week \> 2000, corresponding to more than 5 hours of vigorous physical activity per week, for more than 10 years. Affiliated with a social security system. No objection to participation in the study. \* Undergoing a lower limb arterial ultrasound examination as part of routine clinical care.
Presence or absence of medial arterial calcification detected by ultrasound in the lower limb arteries
Qualitative variable: number of subjects with medial arterial calcification. Measurement method: lower limb arterial duplex ultrasound (common and superficial femoral arteries, popliteal arteries, anterior tibial arteries, posterior tibial arteries), using a severity score ranging from 0 to 4 per side, i.e. 0 to 8 in total (0: completely normal vessel; 1: calcifications extending over \< 1 cm; 2: calcifications over 1-2 cm; 3: calcifications over 2-3 cm; 4: calcifications over \> 3 cm). A score of 0 indicates absence of medial arterial calcification, whereas a score of ≥ 1 indicates presence of medial arterial calcification.
Time frame: At enrollment (single assessment on the day of inclusion)
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Feb 2026; primary completion for Jul 2026, 5 months later.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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