Table 3.
Review characteristics and findings from the systematic reviews (n = 8) included in the review of reviews on the relationships between organized participation in child and youth sport and health outcomes.
| Author, year | Intervention/phenomena of interest | Participants | Outcome | Number of studies | Country of origin/context | Results/findings | Heterogeneity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batista et al., 2019 | Organized sports participation | “Children & adolescents” | Adulthood leisure PA | 29 observational studies; 4 cross-sectional and 25 longitudinal | Finland, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, Australia, and Brazil | Moderate-to-strong positive dose–response relationship (weekly frequency, practice level) | Large |
| Eime et al., 2013 | Organized sports participation | n = 22 to > 50,000 (6–20 y) | >40 psychological and social health measures | 30 studies; 21 cross-sectional and 9 longitudinal (26 quantitative, 3 qualitative, and 1 mixed method) | USA, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, UK, and Puerto Rico | Higher self-esteem, better social skills, fewer depressive symptoms, higher confidence, and higher competence | Large |
| Lee et al., 2018 | Organized sports participation | (i) n = 21 to 71,854 (6–19 y) (ii) n = 21 to 12,188 (6–19 y) |
(i) PA (ii) obesity status |
(i) 27 studies; 19 cross-sectional and 8 longitudinal (ii) 17 studies; 12 cross-sectional and 5 longitudinal |
(i) USA, Canada, Europe, Australia or New Zealand, and Brazil (ii) Europe, USA, and Australia |
(i) Positive dose–response relationship (ii) inconclusive |
Large |
| Kim et al., 2017 | Sport-based interventions | n = 1777 (6–18 y) | Body weight loss | 18 intervention studies; 8 RCTs and 10 non-RCTs | Not reported | Moderate, positive effect accentuated by sport type (team vs. individual) and diet control | Large; explained by moderators (sport type and diet control) |
| Harlow et al., 2018 | Organized sports participation | n = 7731 boys and 7401 girls (2–6 y) | (1) psychological and emotional, (2) social, (3) cognitive or intellectual outcomes | 9 studies; 2 secondary analyses of cohort data, 1 RCT, 2 experimental, 2 cross-sectional, and 2 qualitative | North America, UK, Turkey, Australia, Egypt, Greece, and Canada/Poland | Positive associations (8/9 studies), negative outcomes (2/9), some inconclusive findings | Large |
| Evans et al., 2017 | Organized sports participation; (i) sport types, (ii) sport settings, and (iii) patterns of individual involvement | n = 27 to 13,857 (7–17 y) | Psychosocial constructs | 35 studies; 19 cross-sectional, 12 longitudinal, 3 retrospective methodologies, and 1 observational | USA, Canada, England, Belgium, Sweden, Singapore, Australia, and Botswana | Inconsistent across studies, and across gender and age; dose–response relationship (negative relationship in very high involvement) | Large |
| Panza et al., 2020 | Organized sports participation | n = 62 to 32,456 (mean age 12–18 y) | Anxiety and/or depression | 29 studies; 55% with a longitudinal design and 45% cross-sectional | USA, Canada, Australia, Spain, Iceland, Japan, Nigeria, Slovenia, and one study including participants from various European countries | Small positive dose–response relationship for reduced anxiety/depression (varied across study design, age, and sex) | Large |
| Tan et al., 2014 | Organized sports participation | n = 9 to 60 (5–18 y) | Bone strength, mass, and structure | 13 observational studies (NR whether cross-sectional or longitudinal) | Not reported | Consistent positive dose–-response relationship | Large |
Abbreviations: PA, physical activity; y, years; NR, not reported