Disclosures: Anne M. Kuwabara, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: To assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of collegiate athletes.

Design: Cross-sectional survey study at two universities.Setting : Online survey.Participants : 85 collegiate athletes (62 female, 23 male, 52% cross country/track and field athletes, 61% in full competition).

Interventions: N/A

Main Outcome Measures: Level of depression and anxiety experienced, and access to mental health services [during the COVID pandemic in the 2020-21 athletic seasons]. Categorical variables included gender, COVID test status (+/-), housing (on/off campus), competition (full/limited), and sport. Fisher’s exact tests and chi-squared tests were used to calculate p-values. Continuous variables include academic year in college and age. Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to calculate p-values.

Results: Since implementation of COVID-19 restrictions, 32% of female athletes and 4% of male athletes reported “little interest doing things” (p=0.007). 56% of female athletes and 17% of male athletes visited a mental health (MH) professional (p=0.001). More male athletes reported an increase in fitness level than female athletes (p < 0.001). MH professional visit frequency varied by housing status, with on-campus athletes going most frequently (p=0.028). 17% of full comp athletes and 35% of limited comp athletes reported increased experiences of “feeling down/depressed” (p=0.044). Athletes who reported more exercise with teams were in their first year of college (p=0.010). Out of athletes who visited a MH professional, those who visited one before COVID-19 were significantly older (p=0.033).Conclusions: Between April and May of 2021, COVID-19 restrictions have particularly impacted collegiate female athletes, athletes in limited competition, and older athletes, demonstrated by their increased usage of mental health services and corresponding increase in feelings of depression and decreased exercise. Athletes living on campus were able to attend mental health services more frequently.

Level of Evidence: Level IV

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-mental-health-in-division-i-collegiate-athletes/