TY - JOUR
T1 - Occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders in current and former elite athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Gouttebarge, Vincent
AU - Castaldelli-Maia, João Mauricio
AU - Gorczynski, Paul
AU - Hainline, Brian
AU - Hitchcock, Mary E.
AU - Kerkhoffs, Gino M.
AU - Rice, Simon M.
AU - Reardon, Claudia L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/6/1
Y1 - 2019/6/1
N2 - Objectives To present an overview of the existing epidemiological evidence regarding the occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders among current and former elite athletes. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Five electronic databases were searched from inception to November 2018: PubMed (MEDLINE), SportDiscus via EBSCO, PSycINFO via ProQuest, Scopus and Cochrane. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies We included original quantitative studies that were written in English, were conducted exclusively among current or former elite athletes, and presented incidence or prevalence rates of symptoms of mental disorders. Results Twenty-two relevant original studies about mental health symptoms and disorders among current elite athletes were included: they presented data especially on symptoms of distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression and alcohol misuse. Meta-analyses comprising 2895 to 5555 current elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 19% for alcohol misuse to 34% for anxiety/depression. Fifteen relevant original studies about mental health symptoms and disorders among former elite athletes were included: they similarly presented data especially about symptoms of distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression and alcohol misuse. Meta-analyses comprising 1579 to 1686 former elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 16% for distress to 26% for anxiety/depression. Conclusions Our meta-analyses showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 19% for alcohol misuse to 34% for anxiety/depression for current elite athletes, and from 16% for distress to 26% for anxiety/depression for former elite athletes.
AB - Objectives To present an overview of the existing epidemiological evidence regarding the occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders among current and former elite athletes. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Five electronic databases were searched from inception to November 2018: PubMed (MEDLINE), SportDiscus via EBSCO, PSycINFO via ProQuest, Scopus and Cochrane. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies We included original quantitative studies that were written in English, were conducted exclusively among current or former elite athletes, and presented incidence or prevalence rates of symptoms of mental disorders. Results Twenty-two relevant original studies about mental health symptoms and disorders among current elite athletes were included: they presented data especially on symptoms of distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression and alcohol misuse. Meta-analyses comprising 2895 to 5555 current elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 19% for alcohol misuse to 34% for anxiety/depression. Fifteen relevant original studies about mental health symptoms and disorders among former elite athletes were included: they similarly presented data especially about symptoms of distress, sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression and alcohol misuse. Meta-analyses comprising 1579 to 1686 former elite athletes showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 16% for distress to 26% for anxiety/depression. Conclusions Our meta-analyses showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders ranged from 19% for alcohol misuse to 34% for anxiety/depression for current elite athletes, and from 16% for distress to 26% for anxiety/depression for former elite athletes.
KW - Alcohol-Related Disorders/epidemiology
KW - Anxiety/epidemiology
KW - Athletes/psychology
KW - Depression/epidemiology
KW - Humans
KW - Incidence
KW - Mental Disorders/epidemiology
KW - Prevalence
KW - Sleep Wake Disorders/epidemiology
KW - anxiety
KW - depression
KW - mental
KW - sleep
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065917909&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85065917909&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31097451
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100671
DO - https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100671
M3 - Review article
C2 - 31097451
SN - 0306-3674
VL - 53
SP - 700
EP - 706
JO - British Journal of Sports Medicine
JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine
IS - 11
ER -