586 MEP084 – Associations between mental health, sleep, and suicidal ideation in Japanese college soccer players: a cross-sectional study

AbstractBackground While there is growing worldwide interest in athletes' mental health, few studies related to mental health and suicide in college athletes have been conducted.Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of mental health problems, sleep problems, and suicidal ideation among college football (soccer) players and to analyse factors associated with suicidal ideation.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among college football players using a web-based questionnaire. Participants were 1,084 players from 2,182 university football federations who gave informed consent. The assessment items included demographics (age, height, weight, and position), psychological distress (Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire: APSQ), depression and anxiety (Kessler-6: K6), sleep dysfunction (Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire: ASSQ), thoughts of dreading death (Baron Depression Screener for Athletes: BDSA), and willingness to seek help (Likert scale). Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between suicidal ideation and psychological distress, depression/anxiety, sleep dysfunction, and intention to seek help.Results Among participants, psychological distress (APSQ≥17) was reported by 413 (38%), depression/anxiety (K6≥5) by 174 (16%), and sleep dysfunction (ASSQ≥8) by 246 (23%). Sixty-three (6%) had suicidal ideation within the last two weeks, and 487 (45%) "preferred not to seek professional help" or "neither" when experiencing mental health problems." This suggests they neither sought help nor had suicidal ideation. Logistic regression analysis results indicated that "depression/anxiety" and " receiving professional support " were associated with suicidal ideation.Conclusion A total of 16% of the participants had/experienced depression/anxiety, and 6% had suicidal ideation the last two weeks. This indicates that Japanese college football players who experience suicidal ideation perceive that they do not receive professional support.