Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To calculate the prevalence rates of mental
health symptoms among female professional football
players over a 12-month period and to explore the
associations of severe injury and related surgery with
mental health symptoms among female professional
footballers.
METHODS: An observational prospective cohort study
was conducted over a 12-month follow-up period by
distributing an electronic questionnaire three times. The
questionnaire was based on validated screening tools for
assessing mental health symptoms.
RESULTS: A total of 74 female professional football
players participated in this study. Mental health symptoms
ranged from 1% for substance misuse to 65% for
sport-psychological distress at baseline, from 6% for
anxiety to 53% for sport-psychological distress 6 months
postbaseline and from 3% for substance misuse to 55%
for sport-psychological distress 12 months postbaseline.
The prevalence of disordered eating remained between
15% and 20% over the 12-month period. Only one of
the associations was statistically significant. Female
professional football players were nearly twice as likely to
report sport-related psychological distress following every
surgery.
CONCLUSIONS: The substantial prevalence of mental
health symptoms among female professional football
players emphasises the need for increased attention,
awareness and interventions. Additionally, female
professional football players are nearly twice as likely
to report sport-related psychological distress after each
surgery. Sports medicine physicians and mental health
professionals working in female football should provide
standard care, which involves identifying, monitoring and
implementing tailored interventions for mental health
symptoms.
