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. 2021 Aug 1;56(8):836-844.
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0739.20.

Changes in the Health of Adolescent Athletes: A Comparison of Health Measures Collected Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Timothy A McGuine  1 , Kevin M Biese  1 , Labina Petrovska  1 , Scott J Hetzel  1 , Claudia L Reardon  1 , Stephanie Kliethermes  1 , David R Bell  1 , Alison Brooks  1 , Andrew M Watson  1
Affiliations

Changes in the Health of Adolescent Athletes: A Comparison of Health Measures Collected Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Timothy A McGuine et al. J Athl Train. .

Erratum in

  • Erratum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] J Athl Train. 2022 Jan 1;57(1):107. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-1014.21. J Athl Train. 2022. PMID: 35040988 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Context: In spring 2020, schools closed to in-person teaching and sports were cancelled to control the transmission of COVID-19. The changes that affected the physical and mental health among young athletes during this time remain unknown.

Objective: To identify changes in the health (mental health, physical activity, and quality of life) of athletes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Sample recruited via social media.

Patients or other participants: A total of 3243 Wisconsin adolescent athletes (age = 16.2 ± 1.2 years, 58% female) were surveyed in May 2020 (During COVID-19). Measures for this cohort were compared with previously reported data for Wisconsin adolescent athletes (n = 5231; age = 15.7 ± 1.2 years, 47% female) collected in 2016 to 2018 (PreCOVID-19).

Main outcome measure(s): Demographic information included sex, grade, and sport(s) played. Health assessments included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item to identify depression symptoms, the Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale to gauge physical activity, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 to evaluate health-related quality of life. Univariable comparisons of these variables between groups were conducted via t or χ2 tests. Means and 95% CIs for each group were estimated using survey-weighted analysis-of-variance models.

Results: Compared with preCOVID-19 participants, a larger proportion of During COVID-19 participants reported moderate to severe levels of depression (9.7% versus 32.9%, P < .001). Scores of the During COVID-19 participants were 50% lower (worse) on the Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (mean [95% CI] = 12.2 [11.9, 12.5] versus 24.7 [24.5, 24.9], P < .001) and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 compared with the PreCOVID-19 participants (78.4 [78.0, 78.8] versus 90.9 [90.5, 91.3], P < .001).

Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent athletes described increased symptoms of depression, decreased physical activity, and decreased quality of life compared with adolescent athletes in previous years.

Keywords: depression; high school athletes; mental health; physical activity; public health.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of depression symptoms for female adolescent athletes before the COVID-19 pandemic (Pre-COVID-19) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (During COVID-19).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of depression symptoms for male adolescent athletes before the COVID-19 pandemic (Pre-COVID-19) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (During COVID-19).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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