{"title":"Prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Adam Runacres, Zoe A Marshall","doi":"10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001867","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To summarise the evidence regarding the prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes compared with the general population.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Systematic review and meta-analysis.CRD42022347359.</p><p><strong>Data sources: </strong>Five electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus and SPORTDiscus) were searched from 1970 to 2023.</p><p><strong>Eligibility criteria: </strong>Studies were included in the meta-analysis if they: (1) were written in English; (2) included male or female elite athletes that had been retired ≥1 year; (3) included a control group <i>or</i> population reference values; (4) reported the time-point prevalence of anxiety and/or depression; and (5) were of a retrospective, longitudinal or prospective, methodological design. A modified version of the Downs and Black tool was used to determine risk of bias.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>37 unique studies including 24 732 former athletes (2% female) were included in the meta-analysis. The time-point prevalence of anxiety (prevalence ratio (PR): 2.08 (95% CI 1.57 to 2.60)) and depression (PR: 2.58 (95% CI 2.04 to 3.12)) in former athletes was over twice that of the general population. Subgroup analyses revealed former American football players and jockeys had the highest time-point prevalence of both anxiety and depression (PR: 2.24-2.88), whereas the time-point prevalence of depression and anxiety was not significantly different to the general population for former rugby players (PR: 1.13-1.30).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our meta-analyses demonstrated the time-point prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes could be over twice that of the general population, with sport-specific differences evident.</p><p><strong>Prospero registration number: </strong>CRD42022347359.</p>","PeriodicalId":47417,"journal":{"name":"BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine","volume":"10 4","pages":"e001867"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11667483/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001867","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SPORT SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: To summarise the evidence regarding the prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes compared with the general population.
Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.CRD42022347359.
Data sources: Five electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus and SPORTDiscus) were searched from 1970 to 2023.
Eligibility criteria: Studies were included in the meta-analysis if they: (1) were written in English; (2) included male or female elite athletes that had been retired ≥1 year; (3) included a control group or population reference values; (4) reported the time-point prevalence of anxiety and/or depression; and (5) were of a retrospective, longitudinal or prospective, methodological design. A modified version of the Downs and Black tool was used to determine risk of bias.
Results: 37 unique studies including 24 732 former athletes (2% female) were included in the meta-analysis. The time-point prevalence of anxiety (prevalence ratio (PR): 2.08 (95% CI 1.57 to 2.60)) and depression (PR: 2.58 (95% CI 2.04 to 3.12)) in former athletes was over twice that of the general population. Subgroup analyses revealed former American football players and jockeys had the highest time-point prevalence of both anxiety and depression (PR: 2.24-2.88), whereas the time-point prevalence of depression and anxiety was not significantly different to the general population for former rugby players (PR: 1.13-1.30).
Conclusion: Our meta-analyses demonstrated the time-point prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes could be over twice that of the general population, with sport-specific differences evident.