Sport specialization, sleep, fatigue, and psychosocial ratings: do highly specialized athletes differ from their less specialized peers?

Objectives: To determine if sleep quality, fatigue, anxiety, depressive symptoms, or perceptions of sport participation differ between high-, moderate-, and low-specialized high school athletes with or without prior injuries.

Methods: During pre-participation physical examinations (PPE), high school athletes completed questionnaires on sport specialization level, history of time-loss orthopedic injury, perceptions of sport participation, as well as sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)), fatigue, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®)). Athletes were grouped according to sport specialization level and history of prior time-loss orthopedic injury.