Esport Athletes' Quality of Life over A Professional Season

PURPOSE: Worldwide, video games have stormed into mainstream culture, creating a wave of opportunity for a new kind of athlete. In 2019, the global esports audience is expected to reach 453.8 million, while over 164 million adults in the United States now play video games and three-quarters of American households are home to at least one gamer. Few studies exist that address the unique set of health concerns in this growing population. Our objective was to monitor changes in health status over the 5-month competitive season among professional videogamers (n=6) from an esports team. METHODS: Data collection included Brief Michigan Hand Questionnaire (BMHQ), Patient Rated Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures, and physical exam measures. These measures were collected during the pre-participation physical exam in March and post-season August 2019. RESULTS: The mean age was 24 (range: 21-28 years); BMI was 28.8 kg/m2(range: 22.9-34 kg/m2); systolic blood pressure was 130 mmHg (range: 114-156 mmHg); diastolic blood pressure was 75 mmHg (range: 74-78 mmHg); pulse 92.5 bpm (range: 66-123 bpm), waist circumference was 91.75 cm (range: 77-106 cm). The mean post-season Quality of Life score (0.73) was lower than the mean pre-season score (0.80, p-value = 0.05). Global mental health, global physical health, physical function, upper extremity, and Brief Michigan Hand Questionnaire scores trended lower post-season, but did not reach statistical significance. Pain interference and pain intensity scores were higher post-season than the mean pre-season scores, but these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies potential quality of life concerns associated with professional eAthletes. Further study is needed with a larger study population of professional eAthletes to confirm the physical and mental health changes over the course of a professional season. Findings may facilitate the development of injury prevention and treatment protocols to enhance the mental and physical health and wellness of eAthletes.