Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019)

Abstract

Mental health symptoms and disorders are common among elite athletes, may have sport related manifestations within this population and impair performance. Mental health cannot be separated from physical health, as evidenced by mental health symptoms and disorders increasing the risk of physical injury and delaying subsequent recovery. There are no evidence or consensus based guidelines for diagnosis and management of mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes. Diagnosis must differentiate character traits particular to elite athletes from psychosocial maladaptations. Management strategies should address all contributors to mental health symptoms and consider biopsychosocial factors relevant to athletes to maximise benefit and minimise harm. Management must involve both treatment of affected individual athletes and optimising environments in which all elite athletes train and compete. To advance a more standardised, evidence based approach to mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes, an International Olympic Committee Consensus Work Group critically evaluated the current state of science and provided recommendations.

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Affiliated Institutions

• International Federation of Sports Medicine CH
• Orygen Youth Health AU
• University of Wisconsin–Madison US
• George Washington University US
• Kocaeli Üniversitesi TR
• Chung-Ang University Hospital KR
• The University of Melbourne AU
• Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo BR
• Western University of Health Sciences US
• International Olympic Committee CH
• Johnson University US
• National Collegiate Athletic Association US
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln US
• Neurological Surgery US
• Amsterdam University Medical Centers NL
• Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität Wien AT
• University of Oslo
• University of Sunderland GB
• University of Amsterdam NL
• Stellenbosch University ZA
• University of Maryland, Baltimore US
• Samaritan Health Services US
• University of Arizona US
• Health & Safety in Sports NL
• Stanford University US
• Princeton University US
• McGill University CA
• McMaster University CA
• University of Portsmouth GB
• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey US
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center US
• Faculdade de Medicina do ABC BR
• Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust GB
• NFL Foundation US

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