This can provide valuable information to help inform discussions regarding the re-initiation of organized sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains unclear, however, whether the psychosocial benefits of returning to sports that were identified are due to the increased PA or other facets of sport participation such as the restoration of social networks or athletic identity. Prior research has found that adolescent athletes who returned to participation in organized sports had significantly higher PA and QOL, and significantly lower symptoms of anxiety and depression than athletes who were unable to return to sports. Given the worsening mental health epidemic among adolescents during COVID-19, this suggests that interventions to reduce the mental health impacts of the current pandemic could have vitally important long-term benefits among adolescents. Recent research has found that survivors of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2002–2003 demonstrate a significantly increased prevalence of mental illness twenty years later. For example, sport participation is associated with significant psychological and social health benefits, and athletes demonstrate higher QOL and self-esteem than their non-athlete counterparts, as well as greater academic success. ![]() Physical activity (PA) has been consistently demonstrated to have significant mental health benefits, and sports participation may also offer psychosocial benefits that are independent of, and in addition to, the benefits of increased PA. When the subset of this group of adolescent athletes from Wisconsin were compared to historical data collected from adolescent Wisconsin athletes prior to the pandemic, it was found that athletes restricted from sports during the COVID-19 lockdown reported significantly worse QOL and dramatically higher symptoms of anxiety and depression, even after adjusting for age, gender, and school instruction method. In a study of over 13,000 adolescent athletes in May 2020, shortly after the nationwide cancelation of school and sports, 37% reported moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and 40% reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression. The cancelation of school and sports during the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with significant decreases in physical activity and worsening mental health and quality of life. This suggests that the majority of the mental health benefits of sport participation for adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic are independent of, and in addition to, the benefits of increased PA. Increased PA is only responsible for a small portion of the improvements in depression and QOL among athletes who returned to sports and unrelated to improvements in anxiety. ![]() PA explained a significant, but relatively small portion of the difference in depression (22.1%, p=0.02) and QOL (16.0%, p=0.048) between PLY and DNP athletes, but did not explain the difference in anxiety (6.6%, p=0.20). 171 athletes had returned to play, while 388 had not. ![]() Mediation analysis assessed whether the relationship between sport status and anxiety, depression, and QOL was mediated by PA. Anxiety, depression, QOL and PA were compared between PLY and DNP using least squares means from linear models adjusted for age, gender, and instruction type. The purpose of this study was to determine whether physical activity (PA) increases were responsible for the improvements in mental health and quality of life (QOL) seen among adolescents who returned to sport during the COVID-19 pandemic.Adolescent athletes were asked to complete a survey in October 2020 regarding demographic information, whether they had returned to sport participation (no, yes ), school instruction type (virtual, in-person, hybrid), anxiety, depression, QOL, and PA.
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