Lausanne, Switzerland - Sports bodies should prioritize routine screening and regular monitoring of elite athletes' mental health, the International Olympic Committee has reported.
The IOC says fostering good mental health and wellbeing must be done across the board with the timing of support critical.
A consensus statement from the IOC states screening and monitoring mental health should be done at predefined points and after significant events, and also address training and competition factors.
"While recognition of overt mental health disorders in elite athletes remains essential, situating athlete wellbeing within a dynamic continuum offers an additional framework for understanding the spectrum of psychological functioning in this population," said the IOC in a statement published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
"For example, elite athletes may experience transient stress reactions related to competitions, to various temporary setbacks that are a normal and common part of elite athlete life, or to intense training periods."
"Thus, there are important mental health considerations even if an athlete does not have a diagnosable disorder."
Updating a 2019 statement on the topic, the IOC say findings are drawn from current evidence reviewed by a 31-strong international panel with lived, clinical, and scientific expertise.
The IOC says the aim is to move to a more standardized, evidence-based approach to the management of mental health in elite athletes.
Other key recommendations suggest clinicians and sports bodies proactively address stigma, confidentiality concerns, and fear of deselection, and that management of mental health symptoms and disorders should be tailored and evidence-based.
It also argues mental health assessment and care for elite Para athletes must account for disability, accessibility barriers, classification systems, and heightened transition risks.
The IOC concluded: "The responsibility for prevention, recognition, and management of mental health symptoms and disorders and for promoting wellbeing extends across the entire elite sport ecosystem."