Comparative Study of the Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Nutritional Practices Among International Elite and Sub-Elite Athletes: A Sample of 1420 Participants from 14 Countries.

BACKGROUND: Although several studies have shown that the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown has had negative impacts on mental health and eating behaviors among the general population and athletes, few studies have examined the long-term effects on elite and sub-elite athletes. The present study aimed to investigate the long-term impact of COVID-19 lockdown on mental health and eating behaviors in elite versus sub-elite athletes two years into the pandemic. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted between March and April 2022, involving athletes from 14 countries, using a convenient non-probabilistic and snowball sampling method. A total of 1420 athletes (24.5 ± 7.9 years old, 569 elites, 35% women, and 851 sub-elites, 45% women) completed an online survey-based questionnaire. The questionnaire included a sociodemographic survey, information about the COVID-19 pandemic, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) for mental health assessment, and the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants (REAP-S) for assessing eating behavior. RESULTS: The results showed that compared to sub-elite athletes, elite athletes had lower scores on the DASS-21 (p = .001) and its subscales of depression (p = .003), anxiety (p = .007), and stress (p < .001), as well as a lower REAP-S score indicating lower diet quality (p = .013). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, two years into the pandemic, elite athletes were likelier to have better mental health profiles than sub-elite athletes but surprisingly had lower diet quality.

Effects of home confinement on physical activity, nutrition, and sleep quality during the COVID-19 outbreak in amateur and elite athletes.

Introduction: Despite the progress in the management of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, it is necessary to continue exploring and explaining how this situation affected the athlete population around the world to improve their circumstances and reduce the negative impact of changes in their lifestyle conditions that were necessitated due to the pandemic. The aim of this study was to analyze the moderating influence of physical activity (PA) and dietary habits on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic experience on sleep quality in elite and amateur athletes. Materials and methods: A total of 1,420 elite (40.1%) and amateur (59.9%) athletes (41% women; 59% men) from 14 different countries participated in a cross-sectional design study. Data were collected using a battery of questionnaires that identified sociodemographic data, sleep quality index, PA levels, dietary habits, and the athletes' perception of their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each variable. The analysis of variances and the correlation between variables were carried out with non-parametric statistics. A simple moderation effect was calculated to analyze the interaction between PA or dietary habits on the perception of the COVID-19 experience effect on sleep quality in elite and amateur athletes. Results: The PA level of elite athletes was higher than amateur athletes during COVID-19 (p < 0.001). However, the PA level of both categories of athletes was lower during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19 (p < 0.01). In addition, amateurs had a higher diet quality than elite athletes during the pandemic (p = 0.014). The perception of the COVID-19 experience as controllable was significantly higher (p = 0.020) among elite athletes. In addition, two moderating effects had significant interactions. For amateur athletes, the PA level moderated the effect of controllable COVID-19 experience on sleep quality [F (3,777) = 3.05; p = 0.028], while for elite athletes, the same effect was moderated by dietary habits [F (3,506) = 4.47, p = 0.004]. Conclusion: Elite athletes had different lifestyle behaviors compared to amateurs during the COVID-19 lockdown. Furthermore, the relevance of maintaining high levels of PA for amateurs and good quality dietary habits by elite athletes was noted by the moderating effect that both variables had on the influence of the controllable experience during the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quality.

Evaluation of motor proficiency and adiponectin in adolescent students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder after high-intensity intermittent training.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic condition with frequent comorbidities such as obesity, troubled relationships, low self-esteem, and difficulty in motor proficiency. This study aims to elucidate the effect of high-intensity intermittent training on motor proficiency, adiponectin, and insulin resistance in adolescent students with ADHD disorder. Fifty adolescent students of both genders with ADHD diagnosis participated and assigned into four experimental groups (each group with 15 girls and 10 boys students; two experimental and two control groups). High-intensity intermittent training was performed continuously 3 times a week for 6 weeks in experimental groups. Serum adiponectin level significantly increased in the experimental groups of both genders after 6 weeks intermittent training while insulin resistance levels were markedly decreased. Furthermore, motor proficiency score were significantly improved in the experimental groups of both genders. In addition gender had no significant impact on adiponectin, insulin resistance and motor proficiency rating. The findings of this study suggest that high intensity intermittent training improved physiological systems in ADHD population that leads to reduce risk factors for future development of comorbidities.