Investigating Factors Contributing to the Occurrence of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Athletes in a Scoping Review

• Published in: Taiikugaku kenkyu (Japan Journal of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences) Vol. 69; pp. 151 - 168
• Main Authors: KASAMA, Shuichi, SAKAKI, Haruyo, ENDO, Eiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Japan Society of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences 2024
• Subjects: 3 Cs; pandemic; sports
• ISSN: 0484-6710; 1881-7718
• DOI: 10.5432/jjpehss.23074

Purpose: Based on a literature review, this study aimed to identify factors associated with outbreaks among athletes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to consider infection prevention measures for athletes. Methods: We performed a scoping review of literature published in online databases from 2019 to February 28, 2023, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Information on the selected references was organized and analyzed qualitatively, and text mining was performed to create association diagrams for co-occurrence associations of the detected words. Results: Twelve references were selected for this study, and we extracted [characteristics of athletes and classification of sports], [factors that increase the risk of infection], and [symptoms and characteristics of infection]. Based on the results, the causes of COVID-19 outbreaks in athletes were divided into 3 categories: [personal factors other than sports], [factors related to playing under sports organizations], and 3 closely related situations related to athletes’ behavior and environment. Conclusion: Outbreaks were common among all types of athletes and sports. The first infections were due to non-sport-related personal factors, and outbreaks occurred when the infection was introduced into the team. Furthermore, infection was spread due to personal and collective factors related to sports. Outbreaks may be prevented by avoiding infections of individuals in their daily life. The present results suggest that infection control measures based on the " three Cs" in situations unique to sports can help prevent outbreaks.