Summary measures among studies reporting psychological outcomes of screening
| Psychological outcome | Median Likert score (1–5)* | Range of Likert scores (1–5)* | Number of eligible studies | N | Median (%) | Range (%) | Number of eligible studies | N |
| Before screening | ||||||||
| Psychological distress† | 1.87 | 1.87 | 1 | 516 | 6.3 | 4.2–16 | 6 | 4443 |
| During screening | ||||||||
| Psychological distress† | 2.69 | 2.23–2.73 | 3 | 3660 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 275 |
| After screening | ||||||||
| Psychological distress† | 2.05 | 1.81–2.19 | 4 | 4176 | 25 | 15–29 | 3 | 783 |
| Feel safer during sport | 3.46 | 3.20–3.55 | 3 | 3660 | 59 | 45–64 | 3 | 783 |
| Positive impact on training | 3.74 | 3.43–3.85 | 3 | 3660 | 60 | 60 | 1 | 275 |
| Satisfied with screening | 4.30 | 4.19–4.41 | 3 | 3660 | 93 | 88–94 | 3 | 783 |
| Recommend screening to other athletes | 4.28 | 3.59–4.32 | 3 | 3660 | 92 | 75–100 | 5 | 2324 |
*Likert scale values reported under median Likert score and range of Likert scores reflect sample mean values reported among each eligible study (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree).
†Psychological distress is a composite measure describing all outcomes pertaining to athletes’ self-reported distressing emotions (ie, depression, anxiety, worry, stress, strain, intrusion, fear) regarding cardiovascular preparticipation screening.