Just Do It: High Intensity Physical Activity Preserves Mental and Physical Health in Elite and Non-elite Athletes During COVID-19.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Casali N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8631504 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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| S-BSST1055 | biostudies-other
Project description:Athletes going through transition periods such as injury or retirement have previously reported feelings of depression and anxiety, especially when feeling unsupported. Cessation of competitive sport during the pandemic has forced athletes through a non-normative transition and has reduced many opportunities to satisfy their basic psychological needs increasing the risk of poor wellbeing and loneliness. Whilst athletes are often praised for their resilience-a trait that serves to support them during tough times-the inability to play sport can be particularly challenging for those with strong athletic identities. An online cross-sectional survey (n = 744) was conducted to capture adult athlete and non-athlete mental health factors (specifically wellbeing, depression, anxiety, loneliness) during emergence from a COVID-19 lockdown. Results showed that resilience was positively correlated with mental health but was no higher in athletes than non-athletes. Furthermore, athletes reported greater anxiety than non-athletes, a difference mediated by negative affectivity-a subfactor of athletic identity. We present evidence that after a temporary transition away from sport, athletes' resilience is comparable to non-athletes leaving them just as likely to suffer poor mental health. Moreover, athletes with strong athletic identities are likely to experience anxiety symptoms above and beyond those reported by non-athletes. Findings have implications for the development of self-management guidance for athletes as the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on sport participation continue.
| S-EPMC8172612 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe physical impacts of elite sport participation have been well documented; however, there is comparatively less research on the mental health and psychological wellbeing of elite athletes.ObjectiveThis review appraises the evidence base regarding the mental health and wellbeing of elite-level athletes, including the incidence and/or nature of mental ill-health and substance use.MethodsA systematic search of the PubMed, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases, up to and including May 2015, was conducted.ResultsThe search yielded a total of 2279 records. Following double screening, 60 studies were included. The findings suggested that elite athletes experience a broadly comparable risk of high-prevalence mental disorders (i.e. anxiety, depression) relative to the general population. Evidence regarding other mental health domains (i.e. eating disorders, substance use, stress and coping) is less consistent. These results are prefaced, however, by the outcome of the quality assessment of the included studies, which demonstrated that relatively few studies (25 %) were well reported or methodologically rigorous. Furthermore, there is a lack of intervention-based research on this topic.ConclusionThe evidence base regarding the mental health and wellbeing of elite athletes is limited by a paucity of high-quality, systematic studies. Nonetheless, the research demonstrates that this population is vulnerable to a range of mental health problems (including substance misuse), which may be related to both sporting factors (e.g. injury, overtraining and burnout) and non-sporting factors. More high-quality epidemiological and intervention studies are needed to inform optimal strategies to identify and respond to player mental health needs.
| S-EPMC4996886 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionElite athletes are exposed to a variety of sport-specific stressors that may put them at particular risk for mental health symptoms and disorders. The aim of the present study was to assess data on mental health of elite athletes and investigate associations and interconnections among different variables using network analysis.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2021 to December 2022. The sample consisted of 275 German elite athletes (167 females) aged ≥18 years. Next to sociodemographic, medical and sport-related data, psychometric data such as psychological distress, symptoms of generalized anxiety, depression, and somatic symptom disorder have been gathered through questionnaires and analyzed by means of network analysis.ResultsOver 95.0% of the athletes showed elevated distress and 28.6% reported symptoms of depression. Results of the network analysis show, among other findings, that symptoms of somatic symptom disorder were associated with severe injuries and substance use. Moreover, elite athletes who reported a better financial situation reported fewer symptoms of depression, generalized anxiety, and somatic symptom disorder. They also reported a lower incidence of mild to moderate injuries and severe injuries, fewer years spent in elite sports, less substance use, and fewer training sessions per week. Conversely, these athletes reported a higher level of distress. Furthermore, sex, financial situation and number of training units per week emerged as significant predictors for mental health symptoms.DiscussionElite athletes showed increased numbers regarding mental health symptoms. Providing appropriate mental health interventions for elite athletes and further analysis of factors that influence the mental health of elite athletes and their interplay seem to be of central importance for the general well-being of elite athletes.
| S-EPMC10706480 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The global coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated lockdown restrictions resulted in the majority of sports competitions around the world being put on hold. This includes the National Basketball Association, the UEFA Champions League, Australian Football League, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and regional competitions. The mitigation strategies in place to control the pandemic have caused disruption to daily schedules, working environments, and lifestyle factors. Athletes rely on regular access to training facilities, practitioners, and coaches to maintain physical and mental health to achieve maximal performance and optimal recovery. Furthermore, participation in sport at any level increases social engagement and promotes better mental health. It is, therefore, critical to understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures have affected the lives of athletes. We surveyed elite and sub-elite athletes (n = 565) across multiple sports. Significant disruptions were reported for all lifestyle factors including social interactions, physical activity, sleep patterns, and mental health. We found a significant increase in total sleep time and sleep latency, as well as a delay in mid-sleep times and a decrease in social jetlag. Training frequency and duration significantly decreased. Importantly, the changes to training and sleep-related factors were associated with mental health outcomes. With spikes in COVID-19 cases rising around the world and governments reinstituting lockdowns (e.g. United Kingdom; Melbourne, Australia; California, USA) these results will inform messaging and strategies to better manage sleep and mental health in a population for whom optimal performance is critical.
| S-EPMC7928674 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Psychological science faces a call to action researching the implications of the corona virus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Rapid reviews have reported that maintaining rigorous research standards is a priority for the field, such as ensuring reliable and valid measurement, when investigating people's experience of Covid-19 (O'Connor et al., 2020). However, no research to date has validated a measure mental health symptomology for an athlete population. The current research addresses this gap by examining the internal consistency, factor structure, invariance, and convergent validity of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995) in two athlete samples. Participants completed the DASS-21 and sport-specific measures of mental health such as the Profile of Mood States - Depression subscale (POMS-D), Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2), Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ), and Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ). In sample one (n = 894), results of exploratory structural equation modeling indicated that a three-factor model provided good fit to the data, but a bifactor model provided better fit. Factor loadings indicated minimal misspecification and higher loadings on the general-factor. Invariance testing suggested equivalence across gender, athletic expertise, sport type, and injury status. Further, latent mean differences analyses indicated that females and injured athletes scored higher than male and non-injured athletes on all DASS-21 factors reporting higher mental health symptomology, those with more expertise scored higher on the general-factor and depression and those with less expertise scored higher on anxiety and stress, and no differences between team and individual athletes. In sample two (n = 589), the bifactor structure was replicated. Results largely supported the scales convergent validity with depression predicting POMS-D scores, whereas all three subscales predicted the SAS-2, ABQ, and APSQ scores. Internal consistency was acceptable in both samples. The current work provides initial support for use of the DASS-21 as an operationalisation of mental health symptomology in athletes. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
| S-EPMC7641904 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThere is a dearth of research on the current health of former collegiate athletes.PurposeTo examine the current health and related correlates in a cohort of former collegiate athletes who played in a diverse range of men's and women's sports with various levels of contact.Study designCross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.MethodsFormer collegiate athletes (N = 3657) were asked to complete an online questionnaire addressing sports history, medical history, and demographics. The questionnaire also included the Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12), which yielded 2 composite scores for physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) health. The VR-12 PCS and MCS scores were compared with published US normative data using t tests and analyses of variance.ResultsMean PCS and MCS scores of the 797 respondents with complete data (21.9% of target sample; average, 14.5 years since last played collegiate sport) were 53.0 ± 6.1 and 51.7 ± 9.4, respectively. When stratified by age and sex, PCS and MCS scores were similar to normative scores in the United States. Lower PCS scores were associated with sustaining ≥3 concussions, playing in collision sports during college, and sustaining a career-ending injury (all, P < .001). No association was found between concussion and MCS scores (P = .06). Among former collegiate athletes, prevalent medical conditions included anxiety (16.2%), hypercholesterolemia/high cholesterol (10.6%), and depression (10.4%). Additionally, 5.8% screened positive for alcohol dependence, and 5.8% screened positive for disordered eating (eg, binge eating, purging). These findings were more prevalent than those reported by the World Health Organization as representative of the US population. Conversely, there was a lower prevalence of depression, bipolar disorders, and attention deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD), than in the World Health Organization US population data sample.ConclusionFormer collegiate athletes appear similar to the general US population on many aspects of mental and physical health. However, observed health deficits associated with previous sports injuries warrant ongoing monitoring of the health and well-being of former collegiate athletes.
| S-EPMC4555572 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Elite athletes can experience a diverse range of symptoms following post-concussive injury. The impact of sport-related concussion on specific mental health outcomes is unclear in this population. OBJECTIVE:The aim was to appraise the evidence base regarding the association between sport-related concussion and mental health outcomes in athletes competing at elite and professional levels. METHODS:A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and Cinahl databases was conducted. RESULTS:A total of 27 studies met inclusion criteria for review. Most of the included studies (67%, n = 18) were published in 2014 or later. Study methodology and reporting varied markedly. The extant research has been conducted predominantly in North America (USA, n = 23 studies; Canada, n = 3), often in male only (44.4%, n = 12) and college (70.4%, n = 19) samples. Depression is the most commonly studied mental health outcome (70.4%, n = 19 studies). Cross-sectional retrospective studies and studies including a control comparison tend to support an association between concussion exposure and depression symptoms, although several studies report that these symptoms resolved in the medium term (i.e. 1 month) post-concussion. Evidence for anxiety is mixed. There are insufficient studies to draw conclusions for other mental health domains. CONCLUSION:Consistent with current recommendations to assess mood disturbance in post-concussive examinations, current evidence suggests a link between sports-related concussion and depression symptoms in elite athletes. Causation cannot be determined at this stage of enquiry because of the lack of well-designed, prospective studies. More research is required that considers a range of mental health outcomes in diverse samples of elite athletes/sports.
| S-EPMC5775382 | biostudies-literature
Project description:COVID-19 vaccination raised concerns about its potential effects on physical performance. To assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on the perceived change in physical performance, we conducted an online survey among elite athletes from Belgium, Canada, France and Luxembourg, with questions about socio-demographics, COVID-19 vaccination, perceived impact on physical performance and perceived pressure to get vaccinated. Full vaccination was defined as two doses of mRNA or vector vaccine or a heterologous vaccine scheme. Among 1106 eligible athletes contacted, 306 athletes answered the survey and were included in this study. Of these, 72% perceived no change in their physical performance, 4% an improvement and 24% a negative impact following full COVID-19 vaccination. For 82% of the included athletes, the duration of the negative vaccine reactions was ≤3 days. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, practicing an individual sport, a duration of vaccine reactions longer than 3 days, a high level of vaccine reaction and the perceived pressure to get vaccinated were independently associated with a perceived negative impact on physical performance of more than 3 days after the vaccination. The perceived pressure to get vaccinated appears to be a parameter associated with the negative perceived change in the physical performance and deserves further consideration.
| S-EPMC10144569 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ContextIn the spring of 2020, US schools closed to in-person teaching and sports were cancelled to control the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It is critical to understand the mental and physical health of adolescent athletes during this time.ObjectiveTo describe the health of athletes during COVID-19-related school closures and sport cancellations.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingA national sample recruited via social media.Patients or other participantsA total of 13 002 US adolescent athletes (age = 16.3 ± 1.2 years, females = 52.9%, males = 47.0%) completed an anonymous online survey.Main outcome measure(s)Demographic information collected was sex, grade, sport(s) played, and zip code. Assessments used were the General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item for anxiety, Patient Health Questionnaire 9-Item for depression, the Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale for physical activity, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 for quality of life. Mental health, physical activity, and health-related quality-of-life variables were compared among sex, grade, sport(s) played, and poverty level using means and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from the survey-weighted analysis of variance.ResultsFemales reported a higher prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (females = 43.7% versus males = 28.2%). The Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale score was highest (best) for grade 9 (mean = 14.5, 95% CI = 14.0, 15.0) and lowest for grade 11 (mean = 10.9, 95% CI = 10.5, 11.3). The prevalence of depression symptoms was highest in team sport (74.1%) and lowest in individual sport (64.9%) participants. The total Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory score was lowest (worst) for athletes from counties with the highest poverty levels (high: mean = 74.5, 95% CI = 73.7, 75.3; middle: mean = 78.9, 95% CI = 78.0, 79.8; and low: mean = 78.3, 95% CI = 77.4, 79.1).ConclusionsThe health of US adolescents during the COVID-19-related school closures and sport cancellations varied to differing degrees depending on sex, grade level, type of sport participation, and level of poverty. Health policy experts should consider these findings in the future when creating and implementing policies to improve the health of adolescents in the United States.
| S-EPMC7863599 | biostudies-literature