Prevalence of illness, poor mental health and sleep quality and low energy availability prior to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games
- Authors: Drew, Michael , Vlahovich, Nicole , Hughes, David , Appaneal, Renee , Burke, Louise , Lundy, Bronwen , Rogers, Margot , Toomey, Mary , Watts, David , Lovell, Gregory , Praet, Stephan , Halson, Shona , Colbey, Candice , Manzanero, Silvia , Welvaert, Marijke , West, Nicholas , Pyne, David , Waddington, Gordon
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. , no. (2017), p. 1-8
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: Establish the prevalence of illness symptoms, poor sleep quality, poor mental health symptoms, low energy availability and stress-recovery state in an Olympic cohort late in the 3months prior to the Summer Olympic Games. Methods: Olympic athletes (n=317) from 11 sports were invited to complete questionnaires administered 3months before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. These questionnaires included the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, Dispositional Resilience Scale, Recovery-Stress Questionnaire (REST-Q-52 item), Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q), Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and custom-made questionnaires on probiotic usage and travel. Multiple illness (case) definitions were applied. ORs and attributable fractions in the population were used. Factor analyses were used to explore the relationships between variables. Results: The response rate was of 42% (male, n=47, age 25.8±4.1 years; female, n=85, age 24.3±3.9 years). Low energy availability was associated with sustaining an illness in the previous month (upper respiratory, OR=3.8, 95%CI 1.2 to 12). The main factor relating to illness pertained to a combination of anxiety and stress recovery states (as measured by the REST-Q-52 item). All participants reported at least one episode of illness in the last month (100% prevalence). Conclusions: All participants reported at least one illness symptom in the previous month. Low energy availability was a leading variable associated with illness in Olympic-class athletes. The estimates duration of symptoms ranged from 2 to 7 days. Factor analyses show the interdependence of various health domains and support multidisciplinary care.
A multifactorial evaluation of illness risk factors in athletes preparing for the Summer Olympic Games
- Authors: Drew, Michael , Vlahovich, Nicole , Hughes, David , Appaneal, Renee , Peterson, Kirsten , Burke, Louise , Lundy, Bronwen , Toomey, Mary , Watts, David , Lovell, Gregory , Praet, Stephan , Halson, Shona , Colbey, Candice , Manzanero, Silvia , Welvaert, Marijke , West, Nic , Pyne, David , Waddington, Gordon
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 20, no. 8 (2017), p. 745-750
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives Illness can disrupt training and competition performance of athletes. Few studies have quantified the relative contribution of the known medical, behavioural and lifestyle risk factors. Design Cross-sectional. Methods Olympic athletes from 11 sports (n = 221) were invited to complete questionnaires administered nine months before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. These included the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Questionnaire (DASS-21), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS), Recovery-Stress Questionnaire (REST-Q-52 item), Low Energy in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q), a modified Personal and Household Hygiene questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and custom-made questionnaires on probiotic usage and travel. An illness (case) was defined as an event which limited training or competition for greater hours in the prior month. Odds ratios and attributable fractions in the population (AFP) were utilised for categorical variables with independent t-tests or Wilcoxon rank-sum for continuous variables. Results Eighty-one athletes responded (male, n = 26; female, n = 55). There were 16 illness cases and 65 controls. Female athletes were at higher odds of illness (OR = 9.4, 95%CI 1.3–410, p = 0.01, AFP = 0.84). Low energy availability (LEAF-Q score ≥8: OR = 7.4, 95%CI 0.78–352, p = 0.04, AFP = 0.76), depression symptoms (DASS-21: depression score >4, OR = 8.4, 95%CI 1.1–59, p < 0.01; AFP = 0.39) and higher perceived stress (PSS: 10-item, p = 0.04) were significantly associated with illness. Conclusions Female sex, low energy availability, and mental health are associated with sports incapacity (time loss) due to illness. Low energy availability had high attributable fractions in the population and stands out as a primary association with illness. © 2017