ABSTRACT

Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in elite athletes, even though physical activity can be a protective factor. Estimations from studies exploring the prevalence of depressive symptoms range substantially, from 1.1% to 32.2%. To date, one can only speculate why this variability exists. Theoretically, non-anonymous screenings may lead to more underreporting compared to anonymous assessments, due to various environmental and personal factors (e.g. social desirability bias, mental health stigma). Yet, there is an absence of exploration whether anonymous or non-anonymous screenings for depressive symptoms yield different prevalence estimations. This is the purpose of the present study. We performed a meta-analysis on 31 cross-sectional studies (searched in SPORTDiscus, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL) with a total sample size of 9776 elite athletes. Prevalence ranged from 0%to 30.7%, with a pooled prevalence of 15.3%. Large heterogeneity and average quality of articles were detected. Anonymity was a significant moderator, showing that studies with anonymous assessments (22.3%) estimated almost double the prevalence compared to non-anonymous screenings (11.4%). As such, identifiable mental health screenings may detect about half of the athletes suffering from clinically relevant depressive symptoms. We discuss several underlying factors and provide recommendations to improve the effectiveness of mental health screenings in elite athletes.

摘要

尽管体育锻炼可能是一种保护因素，但抑郁症状在精英运动员中非常普遍。探索抑郁症状患病率的研究估计范围很大，从 1.1% 到 32.2%。迄今为止，人们只能推测为什么存在这种可变性。从理论上讲，由于各种环境和个人因素（例如社会期望偏差、心理健康污名），与匿名评估相比，非匿名筛查可能导致更多的漏报。然而，对于抑郁症状的匿名或非匿名筛查是否会产生不同的患病率估计，缺乏探索。这是本研究的目的。我们对 31 项横断面研究（在 SPORTDiscus、PubMed、PsycINFO、CINAHL 中搜索）进行了荟萃分析，总样本量为 9776 名精英运动员。患病率从 0% 到 30.7% 不等，综合患病率为 15.3%。检测到文章的大异质性和平均质量。匿名是一个重要的调节因素，表明匿名评估的研究 (22.3%) 估计患病率几乎是非匿名筛查 (11.4%) 的两倍。因此，可识别的心理健康筛查可能会发现大约一半的运动员患有临床相关的抑郁症状。我们讨论了几个潜在因素，并提供了提高精英运动员心理健康筛查有效性的建议。3%）估计患病率几乎是非匿名筛查（11.4%）的两倍。因此，可识别的心理健康筛查可能会发现大约一半的运动员患有临床相关的抑郁症状。我们讨论了几个潜在因素，并提供了提高精英运动员心理健康筛查有效性的建议。3%）估计患病率几乎是非匿名筛查（11.4%）的两倍。因此，可识别的心理健康筛查可能会发现大约一半的运动员患有临床相关的抑郁症状。我们讨论了几个潜在因素，并提供了提高精英运动员心理健康筛查有效性的建议。