Research summary · Mental health
Injury and mental health symptoms in elite athletes
A systematic review examines evidence in both directions: whether mental health symptoms precede sports injury and whether injury precedes later mental health symptoms.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Systematic review
- Journal
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Population / context
- Elite athletes · Multiple sports
What the publication reports
The review included 25 studies: 13 prospective, nine cross-sectional, two mixed-design and one interventional study. Nine of 11 relevant studies associated mental health symptoms with later injury, while 10 of 13 associated injury with later mental health symptoms.
Limits and interpretation
Different injury definitions, symptom measures and study designs prevented a causal or definitively bidirectional conclusion. Associations do not show that every injury has a psychological cause or that symptoms alone predict an individual's injury.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Bidirectional association between injuries and mental health symptoms among elite athletes: a systematic review
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42538145DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2026-111569Reader discussion
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