Associations between lifestyle patterns during COVID-19 pandemic and mental health in athletes from 14 countries. An analysis by sex and sport level
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association of sleep quality, eating behaviors, physical activity (PA), and financial security with mental health among elite and amateur male and female athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: A total of 1385 athletes (41.2% women) from 14 countries participated in this global cross-sectional study, with 40.3% identified as elite athletes and 59.7% as amateur athletes. Data on perceived mental health, sleep quality, PA, eating behaviors, and financial security were gathered through an online survey conducted during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple linear regression analysis assessed the association of these variables with depression, anxiety, stress, and global psychological distress across sex and competitive levels. RESULTS: Poorer sleep quality was the most consistent correlate of higher mental health symptom scores across the regression models, although is association was not uniform across all outcoms and subgroups, PA showed a more variable pattern. In the total sample, higher PA was associated with lower depression, anxiety, stress and global distress scores in both women and men. PA was not significantly associated with mental health outcomes among elite women and was only associated with stress among elite men. PA was associated with global distress and anxiety in amateur women, as well as with global distress, depression and stress in amateur men, but not with all outcomes. Eating behaviors showed less consistent associations, emerging mainly among men in the total sample and between amateur men for specific outcomes. Financial security was associated with lower symptom scores in the total sample for both women and men, but subgroup analyses showed a more differentiated pattern, with more consistent associations among elite women and more limited associations among elite men and amateur athletes. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes' mental health symptoms were associated with several behavioral and contextual factors, particularly sleep quality, while PA, eating behaviors, and financial security showed more subgroup-specific patterns.
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BibTeX
@article{taheri2026associations,
title = {{Associations between lifestyle patterns during COVID-19 pandemic and mental health in athletes from 14 countries. An analysis by sex and sport level}},
author = {Morteza Taheri and Luis Felipe Reynoso-Sánchez and Khadijeh Irandoust and Mahdi Ashouri and Gholamreza Zoormand and Marjan Sadat Rezaei and Hussein Muñoz Helú and Rodrigo Luiz Vancini and Özgür Eken and Manuel Octavio López-Camacho and Ratko Pavlovic and Amairani Molgado-Sifuentes and Diana Korinna Zazueta-Beltrán and Karla Noelia Cruz-Morales and Roxana Abril Morales-Beltrán and Sylvia Adriana Estrada-Díaz and Erick Yael Fernández-Barradas and Helmi Ben Saad and Ismail Dergaa and Hassane Zouhal and Hamdi Chtourou and Nicola Bragazzi and Katja Weiss and Thomas Rosemann and Beat Knechtle},
journal = {Acta Psychologica},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107554},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05788414v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Associations between lifestyle patterns during COVID-19 pandemic and mental health in athletes from 14 countries. An analysis by sex and sport level
AU - Morteza Taheri
AU - Luis Felipe Reynoso-Sánchez
AU - Khadijeh Irandoust
AU - Mahdi Ashouri
AU - Gholamreza Zoormand
AU - Marjan Sadat Rezaei
AU - Hussein Muñoz Helú
AU - Rodrigo Luiz Vancini
AU - Özgür Eken
AU - Manuel Octavio López-Camacho
AU - Ratko Pavlovic
AU - Amairani Molgado-Sifuentes
AU - Diana Korinna Zazueta-Beltrán
AU - Karla Noelia Cruz-Morales
AU - Roxana Abril Morales-Beltrán
AU - Sylvia Adriana Estrada-Díaz
AU - Erick Yael Fernández-Barradas
AU - Helmi Ben Saad
AU - Ismail Dergaa
AU - Hassane Zouhal
AU - Hamdi Chtourou
AU - Nicola Bragazzi
AU - Katja Weiss
AU - Thomas Rosemann
AU - Beat Knechtle
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Acta Psychologica
DO - 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107554
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05788414v1
AB - OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association of sleep quality, eating behaviors, physical activity (PA), and financial security with mental health among elite and amateur male and female athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: A total of 1385 athletes (41.2% women) from 14 countries participated in this global cross-sectional study, with 40.3% identified as elite athletes and 59.7% as amateur athletes. Data on perceived mental health, sleep quality, PA, eating behaviors, and financial security were gathered through an online survey conducted during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple linear regression analysis assessed the association of these variables with depression, anxiety, stress, and global psychological distress across sex and competitive levels. RESULTS: Poorer sleep quality was the most consistent correlate of higher mental health symptom scores across the regression models, although is association was not uniform across all outcoms and subgroups, PA showed a more variable pattern. In the total sample, higher PA was associated with lower depression, anxiety, stress and global distress scores in both women and men. PA was not significantly associated with mental health outcomes among elite women and was only associated with stress among elite men. PA was associated with global distress and anxiety in amateur women, as well as with global distress, depression and stress in amateur men, but not with all outcomes. Eating behaviors showed less consistent associations, emerging mainly among men in the total sample and between amateur men for specific outcomes. Financial security was associated with lower symptom scores in the total sample for both women and men, but subgroup analyses showed a more differentiated pattern, with more consistent associations among elite women and more limited associations among elite men and amateur athletes. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes' mental health symptoms were associated with several behavioral and contextual factors, particularly sleep quality, while PA, eating behaviors, and financial security showed more subgroup-specific patterns.
SN - 0001-6918
SN - 1873-6297
ER -