Prevalence of mental health symptoms in Singapore elite athletes.

Introduction: Mental health research on elite athletes in Asian populations trails behind that of the West, especially in multiethnic societies such as Singapore. This study explored the prevalence and risk factors associated with mental health symptoms among national athletes in Singapore across various sports.

Methods: Singapore national athletes answered an internet-based questionnaire comprising validated screening tools for symptoms of four mental health conditions - athlete-specific psychological strain, depression, anxiety and disordered eating.

Results: A total of 356 athletes participated in the study. Of these, 70% of respondents reported 'high' to 'very high' levels of athlete-specific psychological strain, 41% reported clinically significant ('mild' to 'severe') depressive symptoms, 18% reported 'moderate' to 'severe' anxiety symptoms, and 16% were suspected for disordered eating. Females were more likely to have clinically significant depressive (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.44, P < 0.001) and anxiety (aOR 2.59, P = 0.006) symptoms compared to males. Athletes of Indian ethnicity were more likely to have depressive (aOR 4.18, P = 0.018), anxiety (aOR 4.24, P = 0.032) and psychological strain (aOR 11.83, P = 0.021) symptoms than their Chinese counterparts. Athletes who recently underwent a change in school (aOR 8.89, P = 0.002) or major examinations (aOR 3.23, P = 0.014) were more likely to have depressive symptoms than those who did not. Respondents with a current injury were more likely to experience greater athlete-specific psychological strain (odds ratio 1.79, P = 0.031) compared to those who were not injured.

Conclusion: High-performance athletes from various sports in multiethnic Singapore carried a significant burden of poor mental health, comparable to both the local general population and Western sporting populations. Prioritisation of resources to target high-risk groups may serve to bridge the sizeable treatment gap.