COVID-19 influence on college athletes physical, mental, and emotional health

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in December of 2019 resulted in devastating global economic, social, and health consequences that the modern world had not seen in decades. The SARS-CoV-2 virus affected the lives of the entire world population. If it was not a direct COVID-19 infection, it was the isolation from trying to curb infection rates or economic loss that put a stress on the world population and caused a drastic change in the landscape of athletics. Much like the rest of the world population, athletes suffering from COVID-19 infections presented with a wide range of symptoms, from asymptomatic to intensive care hospitalization. The resulting infections could completely resolve in days or result in long-term COVID-19 symptoms. Following COVID-19 infections, precautions were implemented based on symptom presentation to safely progress athletes’ back to sport activity. Cardiopulmonary and neurologic symptoms are of great concern following infection when returning an athlete to intense exercise. The pandemic also affected the mental and emotional health of college student-athletes due to factors such as cancelations of athletic seasons, social isolation from teammates, and empty stadiums. These changes resulted in 1.5-2 times greater rates of mental health concerns among college student-athletes. This chapter discusses COVID-19 in the athletic population and the significant physical and mental health challenges the virus created.