Changes in the Health of Adolescent Athletes: A Comparison of Health Measures Collected before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Context: In spring 2020, schools closed to in-person teaching and sports were cancelled to control the transmission of COVID-19. The changes that affected the physical and mental health among young athletes during this time remain unknown. Objective: To identify changes in the health (mental health, physical activity, and quality of life) of athletes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Sample recruited via social media. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 3243 Wisconsin adolescent athletes (age ¼ 16.2 6 1.2 years, 58% female) were surveyed in May 2020 (During COVID-19). Measures for this cohort were compared with previously reported data for Wisconsin adolescent athletes (n ¼ 5231; age ¼ 15.7 6 1.2 years, 47% female) collected in 2016 to 2018 (PreCOVID-19). Main Outcome Measure(s): Demographic information included sex, grade, and sport(s) played. Health assessments included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item to identify depression symptoms, the Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale to gauge physical activity, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 to evaluate health-related quality of life. Univariable comparisons of these variables between groups were conducted via t or v2 tests. Means and 95% CIs for each group were estimated using survey-weighted analysis-of-variance models. Results: Compared with preCOVID-19 participants, a larger proportion of During COVID-19 participants reported moderate to severe levels of depression (9.7% versus 32.9%, P,.001). Scores of the During COVID-19 participants were 50% lower (worse) on the Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (mean [95% CI] ¼ 12.2 [11.9, 12.5] versus 24.7 [24.5, 24.9], P,.001) and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 compared with the PreCOVID-19 participants (78.4 [78.0, 78.8] versus 90.9 [90.5, 91.3], P,.001). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent athletes described increased symptoms of depression, decreased physical activity, and decreased quality of life compared with adolescent athletes in previous years.