Abstract
Objectives: The primary objective is to compare the prevalence of mental health problems, including psychological distress, anxiety and depressive symptoms in Japan Rugby Top League players in the new life with COVID-19 with those evaluated before COVID-19. Methods: An observational comparative web-based cross-sectional study was employed for Japan Rugby Top League players. We compared the data from 220 Japanese and 7 foreign players during the new life with COVID-19 with the data from before COVID-19, which was obtained from 233 Japanese and 18 foreign players. We measured anxiety and depression symptoms with the validated Kessler-6, which has been widely used in clinical and research settings among different populations. To investigate the distribution of K6 score and whether there are discrete clusters or not, we conducted the two-step cluster analysis. Results: In the new life with COVID-19, 15.0% of players reported mild symptoms, which was significantly lower than the 32.3% of players before COVID-19. The prevalence of moderate and severe symptoms was 6.7 and 3.5%, respectively, in the group during the new life with the COVID-19, and 4.8 and 5.2% in the pre-COVID-19 group, with no significant difference. A two-step cluster analysis supported the existence of these two qualitatively different clusters in both groups. Conclusions: With the spread of new lifestyles related to COVID-19, some rugby players may have improved mental health status due to changes in their daily living environment. Such environmental adjustments alone may not have been sufficient to change the mental health status of others. Rugby players or their teams may require mental health professionals and systems that ensure rest, adjust the environment, and sustainably provide more professional care.
Highlights
Research and practice on mental health among elite athletes is growing rapidly
In the current cross-sectional comparative study, we have demonstrated that the proportion of Japan Rugby Top League male players with psychological distress had decreased over the preceding year of COVID-19 social change
We have shown that the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in elite athletes was consistent between the pre-COVID-19 period and the period 1 year after the COVID-19 infection emergency period
Summary
Research and practice on mental health among elite athletes is growing rapidly. The prevalence of mental health symptoms and illnesses in elite sport is comparable to the general population. [3] The multiple factors of the mental health problems include general factors (e.g., stressful life events and inadequate social support) and athlete-specific factors (e.g., physical injury, poor performance, competition for selection, career transition). Contact sports athletes may exhibit mental health symptoms and associated suicidal behavior due to biological causes such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy [4]. International sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and experts from sports sciences have stated that mental health research is required for elite athletes [1, 6,7,8,9,10,11]. The survey of background information and demographic items included age, country of birth, educational attainment, marital status, a child living in the household, residential status, experience on the national team, and status of play during the last season
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