Results of a study on the correlation between stress and depression in athletes

Abstract

Background: In Mongolia, the incidence of mental and behavioral disorders increased to 77.4 per 10,000 population in 2000, 109.5 in 2016, and 127.9 in 2019. In terms of age structure, the highest rate is in the population aged 30-54, and the incidence of children and adolescents has been increasing in recent years. Aim: To determine the level of stress and depression of athletes and to study some relationships. Methods and Methods: We randomly sampled athletes from the Aldar Sports Committee, Central Sports Palace, and Jenko Sports Club under the Armed Forces of Mongolia from February 2023 to April 2023 according to the Etugen University Ethics Committee No. 03, 2023. 119 athletes were included, and the stress level questionnaire SRQ-20 and depression level PHQ-9 questionnaire were completed. Results: Athletes between the ages of 16 and 54 were included in the study, with a mean age of 22.68 years. In terms of gender, there were 89 (74.79%) males and 30 (25.21%) females, and the average length of time they had practiced sports was 5.48 years, with a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 18 years. It was determined that 75 (63.03%) of the participants were not stressed and 44 (36.97%) were stressed. 11 (9.24%) of the athletes who participated in the study had severe stress and psychological problems and needed psychiatric examination, diagnosis, and psychological counseling. Considering the level of depression, 37 (32.50%) were healthy, 33 (27.5%) had mild depression, 27 (22.69%) had moderate depression, 16 (13.33%) had moderate to severe depression, and 6 (5%)) had severe depression. 50% of the athletes with severe depression were athletes who had been participating in the sport for 4–6 years. The results of the analysis of variance showed that the level of depression is different according to the level of sports (Chi2=10.74). Depressive problems and stress scores were strongly positively correlated with r=0.87. In univariate linear regression, a one-fold increase in depression problem score was associated with a 0.61-fold increase in depression score (p=0.04), which was statistically significant. Conclusion: The relatively high prevalence of stress and depression among the athletes who participated in the study indicates the inability to perform simple social activities and the risk of suicide, so further in-depth research is necessary. Depressive problems are strongly directly related to stress and weakly related to depression, indicating that depression can be prevented by early detection of psychological problems and appropriate measures in time.