Mental-health symptoms in elite kickboxers

How common were positive mental-health screens among current and former elite kickboxers in this study, and what do its methods allow it to conclude?

By Casey C. Sears (ORCID 0009-0000-6344-1143). Fight Medicine Research Institute, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States.

EA-002. Selected-paper appraisal of one published source. Version 1.2, . Not a systematic review, a clinical review or new data.

Source appraised

Sharaisha Bilgoe, Gino M M J Kerkhoffs, Vincent Gouttebarge. A preliminary study on the prevalence of mental health symptoms in current and former elite kickboxers and their possible association with severe musculoskeletal injuries and concussions. Discover Mental Health. 2025;5(1):181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-025-00328-w

Library record FH-014, with the source’s population, rights and publication status. The authors, journal and DOI are the source’s own.

Design and findings

An electronic cross-sectional survey included 45 current and 29 former elite kickboxers. Among current fighters, reported screening prevalences included psychological distress of 57% and disordered eating of 63%. In former fighters, distress was 36% and alcohol misuse 43%. No statistically significant associations were found between the studied mental-health symptoms and severe musculoskeletal injuries or concussions.

Methodological appraisal

These were self-reported screening outcomes. Recruitment did not permit calculation of a population response rate, and there was no nonathlete comparison group. Small samples, recall and selection bias, and cross-sectional timing constrain the association analyses. The authors identify the small sample, unknown response rate, self-report, recall bias, and cross-sectional timing among the study’s limitations.

Fight Medicine Research Institute contribution

Examination of sampling, outcome definitions, and the reported association tests for fighter mental-health research planning.

Publication record

Output
EA-002 in the Fight Medicine Research Institute’s output register.
Type
Selected-paper appraisal. It covers one source and makes no claim about the wider literature.
Author

Casey C. Sears, Fight Medicine Research Institute, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6344-1143

An LLM was utilized as a research tool with direct human oversight.

Version

Version 1.0, . First published.

Version 1.1, . Author, ORCID iD, output number and structured review record added. Funding statement corrected. The appraisal text is unchanged.

Version 1.2, . Second qualified review by David Williams, MD, recorded. The appraisal text is unchanged.

Method
One published source, appraised under policy P-05. Figures and limitations were checked against the source’s full text. Access basis: Full text at PubMed Central (PMC12634976).
Participants
None. The work used published literature only, with no human participants and no participant data.
Funding

Funding was received for this work. The funder is not yet named in this record. For the source’s own funding and disclosures, see the source.

Correction. This page earlier gave the funding as “None”. Funding was received for this work. The statement was corrected on 10 November 2026.

Conflicts
The author’s interests are listed under Disclosed interests.
Identifier
This appraisal has no DOI. Its permanent address is https://fightmed.institute/evidence-appraisals/mental-health-symptoms-in-elite-kickboxers/. The DOI under “Source appraised” belongs to the source article.
Cite as
Sears CC. Mental-health symptoms in elite kickboxers [selected-paper appraisal]. Version 1.2. Fight Medicine Research Institute; 2026. https://fightmed.institute/evidence-appraisals/mental-health-symptoms-in-elite-kickboxers/
Source notices
No correction, retraction or expression of concern was found in PubMed, Crossref or Scite when this record was checked.

Review record

Each review of this appraisal is listed with who did it and what it covered. A review is credited only after it has been carried out.

  1. Editorial approval

    Completed

    Reviewer
    Casey C. Sears, Founder
    Expertise
    Combat-sports regulation; ringside clinical operations; emergency care; refereeing and judging
    Independence
    Not independent. The approving editor is the author.
    Scope
    Figures and limitations checked against the source’s full text. Approval to publish as a selected-paper appraisal.
    Date
    Decision
    Approved for publication
    Record
    Publication approval of 9 November 2026.

  2. Second qualified review

    Completed

    Reviewer
    David Williams, MD
    Expertise
    Sports medicine
    Independence
    Independent of the author, the Fight Medicine Research Institute, Fight Medicine Journal and its publisher, as stated by the author.
    Scope
    The appraisal checked against its source, as required by policy P-05.
    Date
    Decision
    Approved as written. No changes required.
    Record
    Reported to the output register by the author on 10 November 2026.

  3. Methods or statistical review

    Not assigned

    Policy P-05 assigns this review according to content. None has been assigned or carried out.

  4. Clinical review

    Not assigned

    Policy P-05 assigns this review according to content. None has been assigned or carried out. This appraisal is not clinical guidance.

The rules are in policy P-05. Approving editor: Casey C. Sears, Founder. An LLM was utilized as a research tool with direct human oversight.

Report an error in this appraisal: corrections@fightmed.institute