Prevalence of symptoms of common mental disorders among elite Canadian athletes

Introduction: Researchers have increasingly focused on the mental health of elite athletes. However, there remains a paucity of research on the mental health of elite Canadian athletes, and the prevalence of mental disorders among this population is unknown. Purpose: This study evaluated the prevalence of symptoms of mental health disorders, specifically depression, anxiety, and eating disorders (EDs), among elite Canadian athletes, and identified the relationship between components of the stress process model (stress, social support, coping, and self-esteem) and athletes' symptoms of mental disorders. Methods: Canadian national team athletes who were training for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games completed a survey in December 2019. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations. Results: Canadian athletes (N = 186) were included in the analytic sample. Based on the descriptive results, 41.4% of athletes met the cut-off criteria for one or more mental disorders. Specifically, 31.7% of athletes reported symptoms of depression, 18.8% reported symptoms of moderate (12.9%) to severe (5.9%) general anxiety, and 8.6% reported scores indicating high risk of an ED. Stress was a statistically significant correlate of depression, anxiety, and EDs. Training load was a statistically significant correlate of depression and anxiety, but not of EDs. Depression, anxiety, and EDs were significantly correlated. Discussion: This study presents the first data on the prevalence of symptoms of mental disorders among elite Canadian athletes and demonstrates that they may be at an increased risk of experiencing a mental disorder compared to the general population.