Mental health impact on at-risk high-level athletes during COVID-19 lockdown: A pre-, during and post-lockdown longitudinal cohort study of adjustment disorder

AjD may be exacerbated by the pandemic6; uncertainty about competitions, qualification procedures (e.g. for the Olympics) and training environment restrictions may cause athletes stress in addition to the pandemic itself.7 Many high-level athletes also face disruptions to study, job loss and subsequent decreased income, further increasing their risk of suffering mental health issues.8 Our study was originally designed to monitor high-level athletes during a period of adjustment to a specific stressor (injury, relocation, or being on tour/long periods away from home), indicating they were an at-risk group. [...]the COVID-19 pandemic was not the only major stressor, and results may differ for other high-level athletes. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and virus transmission restrictions can quickly and frequently change. [...]future research should focus on continuous monitoring of high-level athletes’ mental health to register changes in wellbeing in response to the pandemic.