Effects of Pre-Collegiate Sport Specialization on Cognitive, Postural, and Psychological Functions: Findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium

doi:10.3390/ijerph19042335

. 2022 Feb 18;19(4):2335.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042335.

Effects of Pre-Collegiate Sport Specialization on Cognitive, Postural, and Psychological Functions: Findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium

Affiliations

¹ Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, 547 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
² School of Health and Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, 453 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
³ Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 162, Sec. 1, Heping E. Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Education, University of Delaware, 106 Alison Hall West, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
⁵ Michigan Concussion Center, School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, 830 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Indiana University, 340 West 10th Street Fairbanks Hall, Suite 6200, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
⁷ Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
⁸ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.

PMID: 35206522
PMCID: PMC8871746
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042335

Effects of Pre-Collegiate Sport Specialization on Cognitive, Postural, and Psychological Functions: Findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium

Tsung-Yeh Chou et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022.

. 2022 Feb 18;19(4):2335.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042335.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, 547 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
² School of Health and Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, 453 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
³ Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 162, Sec. 1, Heping E. Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Education, University of Delaware, 106 Alison Hall West, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
⁵ Michigan Concussion Center, School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, 830 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Indiana University, 340 West 10th Street Fairbanks Hall, Suite 6200, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
⁷ Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
⁸ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.

PMID: 35206522
PMCID: PMC8871746
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042335

Abstract

Background: Early sport specialization has been associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries and unfavorable psychological outcomes; however, it is unknown whether sport specialization is associated with worse cognitive, postural, and psychological functions in first-year collegiate student-athletes.

Methods: First-year collegiate multisport (MA) and single-sport (SA) student-athletes were identified using a pre-collegiate sport experience questionnaire. The cognitive, postural, and psychological functions were assessed by the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC), Balance Error Scoring System (BESS), and Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18).

Results: MA student-athletes performed higher in cognitive outcomes (e.g., higher ImPACT visual memory composite scores [ß = 0.056, p < 0.001]), but had higher psychological distress (e.g., higher BSI-18 global severity index [ß = 0.057, p < 0.001]) and no difference in postural stability (p > 0.05) than SA student-athletes.

Conclusions: This study indicated first-year collegiate athletes with a history of sport specialization demonstrate lower cognitive performance but decreased psychological distress and no differences in static postural stability as compared to their MA counterparts. Future studies should consider involving different health measures to better understand the influence of sport specialization on overall physical and mental health.

Keywords: balance; cognition; mental health; sport sampling; youth sport.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Description of participant selection.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Cited by

Sport-specific training induced adaptations in postural control and their relationship with athletic performance.
Zemková E, Kováčiková Z. Zemková E, et al. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023 Jan 12;16:1007804. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1007804. eCollection 2022. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023. PMID: 36712149 Free PMC article. Review.

References

1. Popkin C.A., Bayomy A.F., Ahmad C.S. Early Sport Specialization. J. Am. Acad. Orthop. Surg. 2019;27:e995–e1000. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-18-00187. - DOI - PubMed
1. Difiori J.P., Benjamin H.J., Brenner J.S., Gregory A., Jayanthi N., Landry G.L., Luke A. Overuse Injuries and Burnout in Youth Sports: A Position Statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Br. J. Sports Med. 2014;48:287–288. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-093299. - DOI - PubMed
1. Jayanthi N., Pinkham C., Dugas L., Patrick B., LaBella C. Sports Specialization in Young Athletes: Evidence-Based Recommendations. Sports Health. 2013;5:251–257. doi: 10.1177/1941738112464626. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Jayanthi N.A., Labella C.R., Fischer D., Pasulka J., Dugas L.R. Sports-Specialized Intensive Training and the Risk of Injury in Young Athletes: A Clinical Case-Control Study. Am. J. Sports Med. 2015;43:794–801. doi: 10.1177/0363546514567298. - DOI - PubMed
1. Brenner J.S., LaBella C.R., Brooks M.A., Diamond A., Hennrikus W., Weiss Kelly A.K., LaBotz M., Logan K., Loud K.J., Moffatt K.A., et al. Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes. Pediatrics. 2016;138:e20162148. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2148. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Actions
Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Medical
- MedlinePlus Health Information

[1] Popkin C.A., Bayomy A.F., Ahmad C.S. Early Sport Specialization. J. Am. Acad. Orthop. Surg. 2019;27:e995–e1000. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-18-00187. - DOI - PubMed

[2] Popkin C.A., Bayomy A.F., Ahmad C.S. Early Sport Specialization. J. Am. Acad. Orthop. Surg. 2019;27:e995–e1000. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-18-00187. - DOI - PubMed

[3] Difiori J.P., Benjamin H.J., Brenner J.S., Gregory A., Jayanthi N., Landry G.L., Luke A. Overuse Injuries and Burnout in Youth Sports: A Position Statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Br. J. Sports Med. 2014;48:287–288. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-093299. - DOI - PubMed

[4] Difiori J.P., Benjamin H.J., Brenner J.S., Gregory A., Jayanthi N., Landry G.L., Luke A. Overuse Injuries and Burnout in Youth Sports: A Position Statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Br. J. Sports Med. 2014;48:287–288. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-093299. - DOI - PubMed

[5] Jayanthi N., Pinkham C., Dugas L., Patrick B., LaBella C. Sports Specialization in Young Athletes: Evidence-Based Recommendations. Sports Health. 2013;5:251–257. doi: 10.1177/1941738112464626. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Jayanthi N., Pinkham C., Dugas L., Patrick B., LaBella C. Sports Specialization in Young Athletes: Evidence-Based Recommendations. Sports Health. 2013;5:251–257. doi: 10.1177/1941738112464626. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Jayanthi N.A., Labella C.R., Fischer D., Pasulka J., Dugas L.R. Sports-Specialized Intensive Training and the Risk of Injury in Young Athletes: A Clinical Case-Control Study. Am. J. Sports Med. 2015;43:794–801. doi: 10.1177/0363546514567298. - DOI - PubMed

[8] Jayanthi N.A., Labella C.R., Fischer D., Pasulka J., Dugas L.R. Sports-Specialized Intensive Training and the Risk of Injury in Young Athletes: A Clinical Case-Control Study. Am. J. Sports Med. 2015;43:794–801. doi: 10.1177/0363546514567298. - DOI - PubMed

[9] Brenner J.S., LaBella C.R., Brooks M.A., Diamond A., Hennrikus W., Weiss Kelly A.K., LaBotz M., Logan K., Loud K.J., Moffatt K.A., et al. Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes. Pediatrics. 2016;138:e20162148. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2148. - DOI - PubMed

[10] Brenner J.S., LaBella C.R., Brooks M.A., Diamond A., Hennrikus W., Weiss Kelly A.K., LaBotz M., Logan K., Loud K.J., Moffatt K.A., et al. Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes. Pediatrics. 2016;138:e20162148. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2148. - DOI - PubMed

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Effects of Pre-Collegiate Sport Specialization on Cognitive, Postural, and Psychological Functions: Findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium

Affiliations

Effects of Pre-Collegiate Sport Specialization on Cognitive, Postural, and Psychological Functions: Findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical