The Elite Athlete Mental Health Strategy (TEAMS) A randomised controlled trial of Internet-based interventions to promote mental health help-seeking in elite athletes. A report prepared for the Australian Institute of Sport

Mental disorders are highly prevalent and account for almost 30% of the non-fatal burden of disease in Australia [1]. Young people are particularly vulnerable with around 26% experiencing a mental disorder per year [2]. Depression and anxiety in particular, are common with an estimated prevalence level of 7- 18% for anxiety disorders, and 6-11% for depressive disorders [2-4] in high income countries worldwide. These disorders contribute significantly to societal disease burden, including the economic impact of lowered work productivity, and frequent use of medical services [5-6]. These conditions also can have severe consequences for the individual if left untreated including disability [6-7], suicide [8], lowered quality of life, and physical and social functioning, even for those experiencing depression or anxiety symptoms only [9]. There is a paucity of research investigating specific population groups such as elite athletes [10]. Thus little is known about the prevalence of common mental disorders in this group. Our previous report indicated that elite athletes may have lower levels of social anxiety, and lower mean levels of general psychological distress [11]. However, rates of depression and generalised anxiety disorder were similar to those of other young people. Previous published research in the United States has also demonstrated that young athletes have comparable levels of depressive symptoms to non-athletes. The study found that 21.4% of the athletes surveyed reported clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms [Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) score ≥16] [12]