Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on athletes' anxiety

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had an adverse effect on all the aspects of life and on people from all walks of life. The sheer damage caused by this pandemic on the affected individuals as well as the socioeconomic harm is immeasurable. Due to the scale of disruption in lifestyles and day-to-day activities of the population, it has become quite difficult to assess how the pandemic has affected people of various occupations and segments. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on athletes' anxiety. Methods: Forty-one athletes filled out a questionnaire distributed through the Internet through Google forms to measure their anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption score. It was filled once for prelockdown (baseline score) and then for postlockdown and then compared. A two-tailed t-test was then conducted. Results: The t-value of the trait anxiety score (total) was ‒0.694 with P = 0.492, and that of the worry score was 0.477 with P = 0.636. The t-value for concentration disruption score and somatic trait anxiety score was ‒2.115 (P = 0.041) and ‒0.371 (P = 0.712), respectively. Conclusion: There was a significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on athletes' anxiety.