Yamaguchi Tatsuya, Kitahara Akari, Sato Kazuki, Mimura Masaru
Institute for Integrated Sports Medicine, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Open Access J Sports Med. 2024 Sep 27;15:129-140. doi: 10.2147/OAJSM.S472643. eCollection 2024.
To investigate the differences in characteristics between Japanese athletes who visited mental health outpatient clinics before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Athletes who visited various healthcare facilities between 2018 and 2022 were considered. The independent variable was the timing of outpatient mental health clinic visits-either before or after COVID-19. The primary outcome was the F classification based on the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision. We collected data on clinical psychiatric diagnoses, age, sex, referral pathway, and sports-related information such as the type of sport, level of contact, individual/team sport, involvement duration, and athletic competition level. Between-group comparisons were performed among the pre- and post-COVID-19 groups using the -test, Mann-Whitney test, and chi-square test.
Eighty-six athletes (37 before COVID-19 and 49 after COVID-19) were deemed eligible for the study. No significant differences were detected between the pre- and post-COVID-19 groups. However, subgroup analyses revealed a significant increase in anxiety-related disorders among female athletes and in participation in individual sports among male athletes in the post-COVID-19 group compared with the pre-COVID-19 group.
The increased anxiety among female athletes and the increased participation in individual sports among male athletes suggest that these groups should be a high-priority target for early intervention and prevention strategies. This study contributes to our understanding of how COVID-19 has affected the mental health of athletes seeking medical treatment in Japan, and it highlights which segments of the Japanese athlete population may be more vulnerable to mental health issues in the post-COVID-19 era. Although the sample size is small, this study also provides valuable insights for practitioners on how to target specific segments of the athlete population for the implementation of interventions aimed at mitigating the development of mental health issues after COVID-19.
调查在新冠疫情前后前往心理健康门诊就诊的日本运动员在特征上的差异。
纳入2018年至2022年间前往各类医疗机构就诊的运动员。自变量为心理健康门诊就诊时间，即新冠疫情之前或之后。主要结局是基于《国际疾病分类第10次修订本》的F分类。我们收集了临床精神科诊断、年龄、性别、转诊途径以及与运动相关的信息，如运动类型、接触程度、个人/团体运动、参与时长和运动竞赛水平等数据。使用t检验、曼-惠特尼检验和卡方检验对新冠疫情前后两组进行组间比较。
86名运动员（新冠疫情前37名，新冠疫情后49名）被认为符合研究条件。新冠疫情前后两组之间未检测到显著差异。然而，亚组分析显示，与新冠疫情前组相比，新冠疫情后组中女性运动员焦虑相关障碍显著增加，男性运动员参与个人运动的比例增加。
女性运动员焦虑情绪增加以及男性运动员参与个人运动比例增加表明，这些群体应成为早期干预和预防策略的高度优先目标。本研究有助于我们了解新冠疫情如何影响在日本寻求医疗救治的运动员的心理健康，并突出了在新冠疫情后时代日本运动员群体中哪些部分可能更容易出现心理健康问题。尽管样本量较小，但本研究也为从业者提供了有价值的见解，即如何针对运动员群体的特定部分实施干预措施，以减轻新冠疫情后心理健康问题的发展。
