Dünya Çapında Elit Sporcu İntiharları

Öz

İntihar, geçmişten günümüze kadar önemli bir ruh sağlığı ve halk sağlığı sorununu temsil etmektedir. Elit sporcularda geniş bir yelpazede psikolojik sorunlara ve nihayetinde intihara yol açabilecek hem bireysel hem de çevresel faktörler bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, cinsiyet, branş, yaş ve intihar nedenleri gibi değişkenleri dikkate alarak sporcular arasındaki intihar vakalarını analiz etmektir. Çalışmanın metodolojisi internet aramaları, medya haberleri ve ölüm ilanlarından oluşmaktadır. Araştırma sonucunda intihar eden 256 sporcu tespit edilmiştir. İntihar eden sporcuların çoğunluğunun erkek (%81,2) olduğu ve kadın sporculardaki intihar oranı (%18,8) ise erkeklere göre daha düşük olduğu belirlenmiştir. Spor dallarına bakıldığında, futbolcular (%18,8) en yüksek intihar oranına sahipken, bunu kış sporlarında mücadele eden sporcuların (%14,5) ve bisiklet (%10,2) branşındaki sporcuların takip ettiği tespit edilmiştir. İntihar eden sporcuların doğum kıtaları incelendiğinde ise en yüksek intihar oranının Avrupalı sporcularda (%55,3) olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sporcularda intihar riskine yol açan başlıca faktörlerin depresyon, psikolojik çöküntü, sakatlanma, hastalık, kanser teşhisi, aile sorunları, tükenmişlik sendromu, kronik hastalıklar, sosyal izolasyon ve madde kullanımı olduğu saptanmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Elit sporcu
• İntihar
• Spor
• Psikolojik faktörler
• Halk sağlığı

Elite Athlete Suicide Around The World

Öz

Suicide represents a significant mental and public health issue that has persisted from the past to the present. Elite athletes face a wide range of individual and environmental factors that can lead to psychological problems and, ultimately, suicide. The aim of this study is to analyze cases of suicide among athletes, taking into account variables such as gender, sport discipline, age, and reasons for suicide. The study methodology involved internet searches, media reports, and obituaries. A total of 256 athletes who committed suicide were identified. It was determined that the majority of these athletes were male (81.2%), while the rate among female athletes (18.8%) was lower. Regarding sport disciplines, footballers exhibited the highest suicide rate (18.8%), followed by athletes in winter sports (14.5%) and cycling (10.2%). An analysis of the athletes' continents of origin revealed that European athletes had the highest suicide rate (55.3%). The primary factors contributing to suicide risk among athletes were identified as depression, psychological distress, injury, illness, cancer diagnosis, family problems, burnout syndrome, chronic diseases, social isolation, and substance use.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Elite athlete
• Suicide
• Sports
• Psychological factors
• Public health

Kaynakça

1. Armstrong, S., & Oomen-Early, J. (2009). Social connectedness, self-esteem, and depression symptomatology among collegiate athletes versus nonathletes. J Am Coll Health, 57(5), 521-526.
2. Baum, A. L. (2013). Suicide in athletes. Clinical Sports Psychiatry: An International Perspective, 79-88. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118404904.ch8
3. Biggin, I.J.R., Burns, J. H., & Uphill, M. (2017). An investigation of athletes' and coaches' perceptions of mental ill-health in elite athletes. J Clin Sport Psychol, 11(2), 126-147. doi:10.1123/JCSP.2016-0017
4. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches. California: Sage Publications.
5. Darvishi, N., Farhadi, M., Haghtalab, T., & Poorolajal, J. (2015). Alcohol-related risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and completed suicide: a meta-analysis. PloS one, 10(5), e0126870.
6. Delenardo, S., & Terrion, J. L. (2014). Suck it up: opinions and attitudes about mental illness stigma and help-seeking behaviour of male varsity football players. Can J Commun Ment Health., 33(3), 43-56.
7. Devries, K., Watts, C., Yoshihama, M., Kiss, L., Schraiber, L. B., Deyessa, N., ... & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2011). Violence against women is strongly associated with suicide attempts: evidence from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women. Social Science & Medicine, 73(1), 79-86.
8. Duncombe, S. L., Tanaka, H., De Larochelambert, Q., Schipman, J., Toussaint, J. F., & Antero, J. (2021). High hopes: lower risk of death due to mental disorders and self-harm in a century-long US Olympian cohort compared with the general population. Br J Sports Med., 55(16), 900-905.

9. Gouttebarge, V., Frings-Dresen, M. H., & Sluiter, J. K. (2015). Mental and psychosocial health among current and former professional footballers. Occupational medicine, 65(3), 190-196.
10. Gouttebarge, V., Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., Gorczynski, P., Hainline, B., Hitchcock, M. E., Kerkhoffs, G. M., ... & Reardon, C. L. (2019). Occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders in current and former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(11), 700-706.
11. Grashow, R. G., Roberts, A. L., Zafonte, R., Pascual-Leone, A., Taylor, H., Baggish, A., ... & Weisskopf, M. G. (2019). Defining exposures in professional football: Professional American-style football players as an occupational cohort. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 7(2), 2325967119829212.
12. Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K. M., & Christensen, H. (2012). Barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking for young elite athletes: a qualitative study. BMC Psychiatry, 12(1), 157-170.
13. Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K. M., Mackinnon, A., Batterham, P. J., & Stanimirovic R. (2015). The mental health of Australian elite athletes. J Sci Med Sport, 18(3), 255-261. doi:10.1016/J. JSAMS.2014.04.006
14. Kaier, E., Cromer, L. D., Johnson, M. D., Strunk, K., & Davis, J. L. (2015). Perceptions of mental illness stigma: comparisons of athletes to nonathlete peers. J Coll Stud Dev, 56(7), 735-739. doi:10.1353/CSD.2015.0079
15. Kettunen, J. A., Kujala, U. M., Kaprio, J., Bäckmand, H., Peltonen, M., Eriksson, J. G., & Sarna, S. (2015). All-cause and disease-specific mortality among male, former elite athletes: an average 50-year follow-up. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(13), 893-897.
16. Khader, W. S., Tubbs, A. S., Haghighi, A., Athey, A. B., Killgore, W. D., Hale, L., ... & Grandner, M. A. (2020). Onset insomnia and insufficient sleep duration are associated with suicide ideation in university students and athletes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 1161-1164.
17. Kornspan, A. S., & Duve, M. A. (2006). A nice and a need: a summary of the need for sports psychology consultants in collegiate sports. Ann Am Psychother Assoc, 9, 19-25.
18. Lehman, E. J., Hein, M. J., & Gersic, C. M. (2016). Suicide mortality among retired National Football League players who played 5 or more seasons. Am J Sports Med, 44(10), 2486-2491. doi:10.1177/0363546516645093
19. Lemez, S., Wattie, N., & Baker, J. (2016). Early death in active professional athletes: Trends and causes. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 26(5), 544-549.
20. Lindqvist, A. S., Moberg, T., Ehrnborg, C., Eriksson, B. O., Fahlke, C., & Rosén, T. (2014). Increased mortality rate and suicide in S wedish former elite male athletes in power sports. Scandinavian journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(6), 1000-1005.
21. Maron, B. J., Haas, T. S., Murphy, C. J., Ahluwalia, A., & Rutten-Ramos, S. (2014). Incidence and causes of sudden death in US college athletes. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 63(16), 1636-1643.
22. Morales, J. S., Castillo‐García, A., Valenzuela, P. L., Saco‐Ledo, G., Mañas, A., Santos‐Lozano, A., & Lucia, A. (2021). Mortality from mental disorders and suicide in male professional American football and soccer players: A Meta‐Analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 31(12), 2241-2248.
23. Oyesanya, M., Lopez-Morinigo, J., & Dutta, R. (2015). Systematic review of suicide in economic recession. World Journal of Psychiatry, 5(2), 243-254.
24. Pichler, E. M., Ewers, S., Ajdacic‐Gross, V., Deutschmann, M., Exner, J., Kawohl, W., ... & Claussen, M. C. (2023). Athletes are not at greater risk for death by suicide: A review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 33(5), 569-585.
25. Rao, A. L., Asif, I. M., Drezner, J. A., Toresdahl, B. G., & Harmon, K. G. (2015). Suicide in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes: a 9-year analysis of the NCAA resolutions database. Sports Health, 7(5), 452-457.
26. Reardon, C. L., Hainline, B., Aron, C. M., Baron, D., Baum, A. L., Bindra, A., ... & Engebretsen, L. (2019). Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019). British journal of sports medicine, 53(11), 667-699.
27. Rice, S. M., Purcell, R., De Silva, S., Mawren, D., McGorry, P. D., & Parker, A. G. (2016). The mental health of elite athletes: A narrative systematic review. Sports Medicine, 46, 1333-1353.
28. Smith, A. M., & Milliner, E. K. (1994). Injured athletes and the risk of suicide. J Athl Train, 29(4), 337-341.
29. Webner, D., & Iverson, G. L. (2016). Suicide in professional American football players in the past 95 years. Brain Injury, 30(13-14), 1718-1721.
30. Wegner, M., Helmich, I., Machado, S., Nardi, A., Arias-Carrion, O., & Budde, H. (2014). Effects of exercise on anxiety and depression disorders: review of meta-analyses and neurobiological mechanisms. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets, 13(6), 1002-1014. doi:10.2174/1871527313666140612102841
31. World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide. Accessed February 01, 2025.
32. World Health Organization (WHO). Suicide Worldwide in 2019: Global Health Estimates. World Health Organization; 2021. Accessed February 01, 2025. Erişim linki: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026643
33. Wortzel, H. S., Shura, R. D., & Brenner, L. A. (2013). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy and suicide: a systematic review. Biomed Res Int, 2013, 424280. doi:10.1155/2013/424280
34. Yildirim, A., & Simsek, H. (2021). Qualitative research methods. Ankara: Seckin Publishing.