Self-reported prevalence of sleep and mental health disorders in current and former athletes: a preliminary cross-sectional investigation of help-seeking behaviours

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant characteristics.

Characteristic	n	%
Age (years)
18-29	462	49.2
30-39	139	14.8
40-49	113	12.0
50-59	98	10.4
60 and over	127	13.5
Gender
Men	444	47.3
Women	495	52.7
Sport
Alpine	1	0.1
American football/gridiron	12	1.3
Archery/shooting	29	3.1
Athletics	52	5.5
Australian rules football	66	7.0
Baseball/softball	10	1.1
Basketball	15	1.6
Bowling	19	2.0
Cheerleading/dance	6	0.6
Climbing/mountaineering/orienteering	13	1.4
Combat sports (e.g., boxing, karate, judo, etc.)	23	2.4
Cricket	42	4.5
Croquet	2	0.2
Cycling	22	2.3
Equestrian	30	3.2
Football/soccer	42	4.5
Flying disc	2	0.2
Gaelic football	2	0.2
Golf	4	0.4
Gymnastics/trampoline	26	2.8
Hockey/ice hockey	14	1.5
Lacrosse	2	0.2
Motorsport	2	0.2
Netball	32	3.4
Paddle sports (e.g., canoeing, paddleboarding, rowing)	20	2.1
Racquet sports (e.g., badminton, tennis, squash)	35	3.7
Rugby	95	10.1
Sailing	2	0.2
Skating	12	1.3
Skipping	9	1.0
Surf life saving/surfing	8	0.9
Swimming/diving	65	6.9
Touch football/rugby	7	0.7
Triathlon	25	2.7
Volleyball	16	1.7
Water polo	11	1.2
Weightlifting/CrossFit	166	17.7
Playing Status
Currently competing	732	78.0
Retired	207	22.0
Level of Competition
Amateur	642	68.4
Sports Institute or university/college	127	13.5
Semi-professional	128	13.6
Professional	42	4.5
Country of Residence
Australia	602	64.1
Canada	9	1.0
Ireland	31	3.3
New Zealand	48	5.1
South Africa	6	0.6
United Kingdom	39	4.2
United States of America	204	21.7

Table 2. Sleep and mental health disorder diagnoses and who athletes sought help from by playing status.

Disorder Type		Current Athlete (n=732)	Retired Athlete (n=207)
Sleep Disorders Sleep Disorder Diagnosis
Bruxism	χ^2(1,938)=2.08,p=.149,φ=0.05	86(11.7%)	17(8.2%)
Frequent urination (i.e., Nocturia)	χ^2(1,938)=0.35,p=.557,φ=0.02	35(4.8%)	12(5.8%)
Insomnia	χ^2(1,938)=3.75,p=.053,φ=0.06	54(7.4%)	24(11.6%)
Narcolepsy	χ^2(1,938)=2.00,p=.158,φ=0.05	7(1.0%)	0(0%)
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)	χ^2(1,938)=6.94,p=.008,φ=0.09	35(4.8%)	20(9.7%)
Restless leg syndrome	χ^2(1,938)=0.11,p=.736,φ=0.01	28(3.8%)	9(4.3%)
Rapid eye movement (REM) behaviour disorder	χ^2(1,938)=9.81,p=.002,φ=0.10*	1(0.1%)	4(1.9%)
Vivid dreams/nightmares	χ^2(1,938)=3.43,p=.064,φ=0.06	41(5.6%)	19(9.2%)
Who athletes sought help from for their sleep disorder^†
General practitioner/family doctor	χ^2(1,280)=0.05,p=.825,φ=0.01	116(62.4%)	42(65.6%)
Psychologist	χ^2(1,280)=1.11,p=.292,φ=0.06	37(19.9%)	16(25.0%)
Self-sought	χ^2(1,280)=2.96,p=.085,φ=0.10	48(25.8%)	10(15.6%)
Sleep physician	χ^2(1,280)=0.04,p=.838,φ=0.01	42(22.6%)	14(21.9%)
Sports physician/team doctor	χ^2(1,280)=2.85,p=.091,φ=0.10	7(3.8%)	6(9.4%)
Other (e.g., physiotherapist)	χ^2(1,280)=3.56,p=.059,φ=0.11	36(19.4%)	6(9.4%)
Mental Health Disorders Diagnosis type
Anxiety	χ^2(1,939)=1.12,p=.291,φ=0.03	216(29.5%)	69(33.3%)
Bipolar affective disorder	χ^2(1,939)=0.10,p=.756,φ=0.01	9(1.2%)	2(1.0%)
Depression	χ^2(1,939)=1.26,p=.263,φ=0.04	194(26.5%)	63(30.4%)
Dissociative and dissociation disorder	χ^2(1,939)=0.10,p=.912,φ=0.00	4(0.5%)	1(0.5%)
Eating disorder	χ^2(1,939)=0.18,p=.672,φ=0.01	37(5.1%)	12(5.8%)
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)	χ^2(1,939)=0.01,p=.906,φ=0.00	26(3.6%)	7(3.4%)
Paranoia	χ^2(1,939)=0.85,p=.356,φ=0.03	3(0.4%)	0(0%)
Personality disorder	χ^2(1,939)=0.45,p=.503,φ=0.02	4(0.5%)	2(1.0%)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)	χ^2(1,939)=0.05,p=.828,φ=0.01	43(5.9%)	13(6.3%)
Psychosis	χ^2(1,939)=1.83,p=.177,φ=0.04	2(0.3%)	2(1.0%)
Schizophrenia	χ^2(1,939)=0.57,p=.452,φ=0.03	2(0.3%)	0(0%)
Who athletes sought help from for their mental health disorder^†
Counsellor	χ^2(1,374)=0.09,p=.761,φ=0.02	68(23.6%)	22(25.3%)
General practitioner/family doctor	χ^2(1,374)=0.06,p=.804,φ=0.01	133(46.2%)	39(44.8%)
Psychologist	χ^2(1,374)=1.60,p=.206,φ=0.07	180(62.5%)	48(55.2%)
Self-sought	χ^2(1,374)=0.87,p=.352,φ=0.05	47(16.3%)	18(20.7%)
Sports physician/team doctor	χ^2(1,374)=1.46,p=.227,φ=0.06	16(5.6%)	8(9.2%)
Other (e.g., naturopath)	χ^2(1,374)=0.21,p=.647,φ=0.02	19(6.6%)	7(8.0%)

Note. Data is n (%). Bold* denotes statistical significance at the p<.05 level. ^† % is from group with diagnosed sleep or mental health disorders, respectively. A sleep disorder was reported by n=186 current athletes and n=64 retired athletes. A mental health disorder was reported by n=288 current athletes and n=87 retired athletes.

Table 3. Sleep and mental health disorder diagnoses and who athletes sought help from by gender.

Disorder Type		Men (n=444)	Women (n=495)
Sleep Disorders
Diagnosis type
Bruxism	χ^2(2,938)=4.07,p=.044,φ=0.07*	39(8.8%)	64(12.9%)
Frequent urination (i.e., Nocturia)	χ^2(2,938)=5.47,p=.019,φ=0.08*	30(6.8%)	17(3.4%)
Insomnia	χ^2(2,938)=0.45,p=.501,φ=0.02	34(7.7%)	44(8.9%)
Narcolepsy	χ^2(2,938)=0.05,p=.816,φ=0.01	3(0.7%)	4(0.8%)
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)	χ^2(2,938)=19.90,p<.001,φ=0.15*	42(9.5%)	13(2.6%)
Restless leg syndrome	χ^2(2,938)=1.40,p=.236,φ=0.04	21(4.7%)	16(3.2%)
Rapid eye movement (REM) behaviour disorder	χ^2(2,938)=0.11,p=.745,φ=0.01	2(0.5%)	3(0.6%)
Vivid dreams/nightmares	χ^2(2,938)=6.23,p=.013,φ=0.08*	19(4.3%)	41(8.3%)
Who athletes sought help from for their sleep disorder^†
General practitioner/family doctor	χ^2(2,280)=2.05,p=.153,φ=0.15	68(56.7%)	90(69.2%)
Psychologist	χ^2(2,280)=15.02,p<.001,φ=0.23*	11(9.2%)	39(30.0%)
Self-sought	χ^2(2,280)=2.30,p=.129,φ=0.09	22(18.3%)	36(27.7%)
Sleep physician	χ^2(2,280)=12.48,p<.001,φ=0.21*	38(31.7%)	18(13.8%)
Sports physician/team doctor	χ^2(2,280)=0.00,p=.963,φ=0.00	6(5.0%)	7(5.4%)
Other (e.g., physiotherapist)	χ^2(2,280)=2.43,p=.119,φ=0.09	15(12.5%)	27(20.8%)
Mental Health Disorders Diagnosis type
Anxiety	χ^2(2,939)=20.39,p<.001,φ=0.15*	103(23.2%)	182(36.8%)
Bipolar affective disorder	χ^2(2, 939)=1.19,p=.275,φ=0.04	7(1.6%)	4(0.8%)
Depression	χ^2(2,939)=5.18,p=.023,φ=0.07*	106(23.9%)	151(30.5%)
Dissociative and dissociation disorder	χ^2(2,939)=0.11,p=.744,φ=0.11	2(0.5%)	3(0.6%)
Eating disorder	χ^2(2,939)=25.46,p<.001,φ=0.17*	6(1.4%)	43(8.7%)
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)	χ^2(2,939)=2.67,p=.102,φ=0.05	11(2.5%)	22(4.4%)
Paranoia	χ^2(2,939)=0.45,p=.501,φ=0.02	2(0.5%)	1(0.2%)
Personality disorder	χ^2(2,939)=0.02,p=.894,φ=0.00	3(0.7%)	3(0.6%)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)	χ^2(2,939)=1.53,p=.216,φ=0.04	22(5.0%)	34(6.9%)
Psychosis	χ^2(2,938)=1.24,p=.266,φ=0.04	3(0.7%)	1(0.2%)
Schizophrenia	χ^2(2,938)=2.23,p=.135,φ=0.05	2(0.5%)	0(0%)
Who athletes sought help from for their mental health disorder^†
Counsellor	χ^2(2,381)=1.05,p=.305,φ=0.05	31(21.2%)	59(25.8%)
General practitioner/family doctor	χ^2(2,381)=2.31,p=.129,φ=0.08	60(41.1%)	112(48.9%)
Psychologist	χ^2(2,381)=3.03,p=.082,φ=0.09	81(55.5%)	147(64.2%)
Self-sought	χ^2(2,381)=2.26,p=.133,φ=0.08	20(13.7%)	45(19.7%)
Sports physician/team doctor	χ^2(2,381)=2.12,p=.145,φ=0.08	6(4.1%)	18(7.9%)
Other (e.g., naturopath)	χ^2(2,381)=0.80,p=.370,φ=0.05	8(5.5%)	18(7.9%)

Note. Data is n (%). Bold* denotes statistical significance at the p<.05 level. ^† % is from group with diagnosed sleep or mental health disorder, respectively. A sleep disorder was reported by n=120 men and n=130 women. A mental health disorder was reported by n=146 men and n=229 women.

Table 4. Functional impairment of sleep and mental health disorder for those with comorbid sleep and mental health disorders compared to sleep and mental health disorders only.

Functional impairment of sleep disorder	Comorbid disorders		Sleep disorder only
	n	%	n	%
Sports training (χ^2(1,280)=8.50,p=.004,φ=0.17)*	87	56.9	50	39.4
Sports performance (χ^2(1,279)=15.24,p<.001,φ=0.23)*	93	60.8	47	37.3
General lifestyle (χ^2(1,280)=9.36,p=.002,φ=0.18)*	121	78.6	78	61.9
Functional impairment of mental health disorder	Comorbid disorders		Mental health disorder only
	n	%	n	%
Sports training (χ^2(1,374)=4.87,p=.027,φ=0.12)*	102	63.7	112	52.3
Sports performance (χ^2(1,374)=8.48,p=.004,φ=0.15)*	107	66.9	111	51.9
General lifestyle (χ^2(1,374)=3.92,p=.048,φ=0.10)*	145	90.6	178	83.6

Data is n (%). Bold* denotes statistical significance at the p < .05 level.

Data availability statement

The Flinders University Human Research Ethics Committee approved the project (Project Number 4276). The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, AM, upon reasonable request.