Relationships Between Depression and Body Composition in Collegiate Athletes and Non-athletes

Up to 62.9% of the general college student population report depression. Whether or not collegiate athletes have higher or lower depression scores remains unclear. PURPOSE: To 1) determine the incidence of depression at a midwestern university and 2) explore relationships between depression and body composition in collegiate athletes and non-athletes. METHODS: A convenience sample of student-athletes and non-athletes, from a NCAA Division II school, were screened for depression using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression – Revised (CESD-R) scale. The threshold for depression was ≥16. Total body composition was assessed using a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanner (Hologic, Horizon A). One-way ANOVA was used to compare depression scores across sport teams. Relationships between body composition, strength and depression scores were assessed using Pearson’s r. RESULTS: 415 college students (290 males) across 12 sports (7 male sports), plus a male and female cohort of non-athletes, participated in our screening tests. The overall mean depression score for males was 5.3±6.7, with non-athletes having the highest (11.8±10.0) and tennis players (2.1±4.0) having the lowest average depression scores. The difference between male non-athletes versus all other athletes (sports team) depression scores were significantly different (F=5.53; p