High School Sports During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Effect of Sport Participation on the Health of Adolescents.
J Athl Train
; 57(1): 51-58, 2022 Jan 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1635334
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT During the fall of 2020, some high schools across the United States allowed their students to participate in interscholastic sports while others cancelled or postponed their sport programs due to concerns regarding COVID-19 transmission. What effect this has had on the physical and mental health of adolescents is unknown. OBJECTIVE:
To identify the effect of playing a sport during the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of student-athletes.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.SETTING:
Sample recruited via email. PATIENTS OR OTHERPARTICIPANTS:
A total of 559 Wisconsin high school athletes (age = 15.7 ± 1.2 years, female = 43.6%, male = 56.4%) from 44 high schools completed an online survey in October 2020. A total of 171 (30.6%) athletes played (PLY) a fall sport, while 388 (69.4%) did not play (DNP). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Demographic data included sex, grade, and sport(s) played. Assessments were the General Anxiety Disorder-7 Item for anxiety, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item for depression, the Hospital for Special Surgery Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale for physical activity, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 for quality of life. Univariable comparisons between the 2 groups were made via t tests or χ2 tests. Means for each continuous outcome measure were compared between groups using analysis-of-variance models that controlled for age, sex, teaching method (virtual, hybrid, or in person), and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.RESULTS:
The PLY group participants were less likely to report moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety (PLY = 6.6%, DNP = 44.1%, P < .001) and depression (PLY = 18.2%, DNP = 40.4%, P < .001). They also demonstrated higher (better) Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale scores (PLY = 23.2 [95% CI = 22.0, 24.5], DNP = 16.4 [95% CI = 15.0, 17.8], P < .001) and higher (better) Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory total scores (PLY = 88.4 [95% CI = 85.9, 90.9], DNP = 79.6 [95% CI = 76.8, 82.4], P < .001).CONCLUSIONS:
Adolescents who played a sport during the COVID-19 pandemic described fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression and had better physical activity and quality-of-life scores compared with adolescent athletes who did not play a sport.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Athl Train
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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