Cognition, Lifestyle, and Gender: An Umbrella Review of Esport Performance and Participation

Background: The recent exponential rise in esports participation has stimulated growing interest in the performance, participation, and well-being of esports players. This research has culminated in several systematic reviews that provide an initial biopsychosocial perspective of esports players. The aim of our umbrella review was to synthesise and quality appraise these systematic reviews to provide a coherent understanding of the biopsychosocial factors affecting esports players’ performance and well-being.
Methods: An umbrella review was conducted on literature published from 2010 onwards from six online databases to identify and examine systematic reviews within esports literature related to mental health and performance. AMSTAR-2 was used to critically appraise systematic reviews.
Results: Fourteen systematic reviews were identified examining player performance (n=5), player mental health (n=4), and a combination of both factors (n=5). Four key themes were identified on esports player lifestyle, cognition, physical health, and gender-based concerns. Twelve of the 14 systematic reviews were rated low or critically low quality.
Discussion: The results highlight the biopsychosocial factors related to esports participation showing a positive impact on cognitive functioning, a mixed-to-negative impact on sleep outcomes and physical activity, and discrimination towards female players. The low-quality reviews show a need for more rigorous methodology in esports research

https://doi.org/10.1123/jege.2024-0005