Sport practice and depression during adolescence: Special emphasis on performance level and sport discipline

Abstract

Objectives Depression is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, with almost half of the adolescent population affected according to latest research. Given this serious burden of disease, research points toward interventions that could effectively fight this disease in this population subset. One of these pivotal interventions is physical activity, although the effects of different sport types and sport performance level on depression have not yet been studied in adolescent populations. Accordingly, the objective of the current study was to assess the relationship between depressive symptoms, sport type and performance level in a large adolescent population. Design Cross-sectional study assessing a large cohort of adolescents through self-reported data. Methods 10,248 participants aged 11–19 years old answered questionnaires regarding depressive symptoms and sporting habits and were classified according to their sport performance level: from physically inactive to internationally competitive. Results Girls reported higher incidence of depressive symptoms than boys, difference that further increased during late adolescence. Performance level was related to depressive symptoms: inactive participants reported the highest depressive scores while internationally competitive athletes reported the lowest. However, there were no differences between competitive athletes of different performance levels. Further, sport type had a small influence on depressive symptoms. Conclusions All these findings result in a potential guideline for future research and community health recommendations: as long as sufficient physical activity levels are met and the adolescent engages in sporting activities, the protection against depressive symptoms remains largely unrelated to the sport type and the level at which he or she performs.

This research was funded by a grant from the Government of Aragón (Grant Number S25_23R).