Australian golfers with and without osteoarthritis report reduced psychological distress and improved general health compared to a general population-based sample

Objectives: To (i) evaluate psychological distress and general health in Australian golfers and compare with a gen-eral population-based sample, and (ii) explore the relationship between playing golf, psychological distress and general health in individuals with osteoarthritis.Design: Cross sectional.Methods: A cross-sectional survey collected outcomes in 459 Australian Golfers (Kessler-10 Psychological Dis-tress Scale, Short-Form 12 (Health Status), International Physical Activity Questionnaire, osteoarthritis status). Outcomes were compared between Australian golfers and a general population-based sample (Australian Health Survey, n = 16,370). Modified Poisson regression estimated the relationship between playing golf and general health in all partici-pants and a subgroup with osteoarthritis (n = 128 golfers, n = 2216 general population). All analyses were ad-justed for age, sex, education and smoking status.Results: Playing golf was associated with lower psychological distress (adjusted mean difference (95 % confidence interval) -2.5 (-4.1 to -0.9)) and a greater likelihood of reporting good to excellent general health (adjusted relative risk (95 % confidence interval) 1.09 (1.05 to 1.13)) compared to the general population. Amongst people with osteoarthritis, playing golf was associated with lower psychological distress (adjusted mean difference -4.0 (95 % confidence interval -6.5 to -1.5)) and a greater likelihood of reporting good to excellent general health (adjusted relative risk (95 % confidence interval) 1.3 (1.2 to 1.4)).Conclusions: Golfers had lower levels of psychological distress and better general health than the general popu-lation, and this relationship was strongest in individuals with osteoarthritis.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate psychological distress and general health in Australian golfers compared to a general population-based sample, and explore the relationship between playing golf, psychological distress and general health in individuals with osteoarthritis. The findings showed that golfers had lower levels of psychological distress and better general health compared to the general population, and this relationship was strongest in individuals with osteoarthritis.