Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescent Athletes: Correlations With Energy Availability, Disordered Eating, and Compulsive Exercise Behaviors.

Disordered eating behaviors were significantly associated with worse health-related quality of life in adolescent athletes.

• Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire scores were significantly associated with PedsQL scores after adjusting for participant sex (β = -4.78; 95% CI = -8.53, -0.76; P = .01)
• The negative beta coefficient indicates that higher disordered eating scores corresponded to lower (worse) HRQOL scores
• 64 participants completed the study (n = 39 female, mean age = 15.5 ± 1.5 years)
• Participants were 13- to 18-year-old athletes actively engaged in at least one organized sports team

Energy availability was not significantly associated with health-related quality of life in adolescent athletes.

• No significant association was found between energy availability and PedsQL scores (β = -0.07; 95% CI = -0.32, 0.19; P = .56)
• Energy availability was assessed using 7 days of exercise monitoring via wrist-worn heart rate activity monitor combined with dietary intake reporting
• This finding held after adjusting for participant sex

Compulsive exercise behaviors were not significantly associated with health-related quality of life in adolescent athletes.

• No significant association was found between Compulsive Exercise Test scores and PedsQL scores (β = -0.28; 95% CI = -1.28, 0.72; P = .58)
• Compulsive exercise was assessed using the Compulsive Exercise Test
• This finding held after adjusting for participant sex

Female sex was significantly associated with lower (worse) health-related quality of life scores compared with male athletes.

• Female sex was significantly associated with lower PedsQL scores (β = -6.43; 95% CI = -12.1, -0.76; P = .03)
• 39 of the 64 participants (approximately 61%) were female
• The authors noted the importance of considering sex-specific differences regarding HRQOL in adolescent athletes

The study used a cross-sectional design at a single sports medicine center with local athletic partnerships to assess multiple correlates of HRQOL simultaneously.

• Participants completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, the Compulsive Exercise Test, and 7 days of exercise and dietary monitoring
• Sample consisted of 64 participants aged 13 to 18 years (mean age 15.5 ± 1.5 years), with 39 female participants
• All participants were actively engaged in at least one organized sports team at the time of study participation
• The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference between variables