Margo Mountjoy

McMaster University | McMaster · Department of Family Medicine

Introduction: The mistreatment or abuse (maltreatment) of medical learners by their peers and supervisors has been documented globally for decades, and there is significant research about the prevalence, sequelae, and strategies for intervention. However, there is evidence that learners experience maltreatment as being less clear cut than do resea...

In 2011, the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine released their first position paper on Abuse, Harassment, and Bullying in Sport. Since this time, there have been significant advancements within the global sport landscape, including the emergence of regulatory bodies and initiatives aimed at prioritizing athletes' health and well-being....

Objectives Little is known about the impact of elite sport participation on long-term athlete health. We aimed to: (1) describe musculoskeletal, mental health, reproductive/endocrine and cardiovascular characteristics in retired elite female athletes and compare to the general population and (2) explore athletes’ perceptions of their elite sport pa...

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) syndrome is associated with undesirable health and performance outcomes. The aetiology of RED-S syndrome is low energy availability (LEA). LEA has been reported in male athletes in various sports, but there is little information in team sports. Therefore, the aims of this study were to assess the point-pr...

Several sports have published consensus statements on methods and reporting of epidemiological studies concerning injuries and illnesses with football (soccer) producing one of the first guidelines. This football-specific consensus statement was published in 2006 and required an update to align with scientific developments in the field. The Interna...

Objective To describe the incidence of injuries and illnesses sustained during the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games from 23 July to 8 August 2021. Methods We recorded the daily number of athlete injuries and illnesses (1) through the reporting of all National Olympic Committee (NOC) medical teams and (2) in the polyclinic and medical venues by the Tokyo...

Sports participation can result in many health benefits for participants. However, scientific research shows that harassment and abuse during sport occur in all sports and at all levels. There are four forms of harassment and abuse: psychological, physical, sexual, and neglect. The impacts of harassment and abuse in sport can be devastating and lon...

Objective: To apply the International Olympic Committee Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool 1 (SMHAT-1) to determine the prevalence of mental health symptoms in a cohort of university student athletes over an academic year. A secondary objective was to explore the internal consistency of the screening tools from the SMHAT-1. Design: Cross-sectio...

This document presents the recommendations developed by the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission and several international federations (IF) on the protection of athletes competing in the heat. It is based on a working group, meetings, field experience and a Delphi process. The first section presents recommendations for event organisers to monitor...

Objective To understand the unique impacts of the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s (CFPC) Certificate of Added Competence (CAC) in Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) on the delivery of comprehensive care in Canada. Design Secondary analysis of qualitative interview data collected during a multiple case study of the impacts of the CAC progra...

Objectives Modern sport safeguarding strategies include published global rights declarations that enshrine athletes’ entitlements at the policy level. It is unclear how these documents translate to athletes’ lived experiences. The study aimed to determine athletes’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about their human rights in sports settings. Setti...

Background and objectives: The College of Family of Physicians of Canada's Certificates of Added Competence (CACs) denote enhanced-skill family physicians who function beyond the scope of family practice or in specialized areas fundamental to family medicine practice. The credential provides recognition for skill development in areas of need and i...

This study examines the way in which student characteristics and pre-admissions measures are statistically associated with the likelihood a student will require remediation for academic and professionalism offenses. We anchor our inquiry within Irby and Hamstra’s (2016) conceptual framework of constructs of professionalism. Data from five graduatin...

Objective To compete in lightweight rowing, strict limits are placed on the maximum body weight of each individual. As a result, lightweight rowers commonly restrict calorie intake despite high energy expenditure. This can result in Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The aim of this study is to investigate the physical and psychosocial im...

Objective To review risk factors associated with acute respiratory illness (ARill) in athletes, including non-infectious ARill and suspected or confirmed acute respiratory infections (ARinf). Design Systematic review. Data sources Electronic databases: PubMed-Medline, EbscoHost and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria Original research articles...

Objective To determine the incidence of acute respiratory illness (ARill) in athletes and by method of diagnosis, anatomical classification, ages, levels of performance and seasons. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Electronic databases: PubMed-Medline, EbscoHost and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria Original research a...

Objective: To characterize and compare the sport-specific cardiac structure of elite swimmers (SW), water polo players (WP), and artistic swimmers (AS). Design: A cross-sectional assessment of elite aquatic athletes' hearts. Setting: The athletes' village at the 2019 FINA World Championships. Participants: Ninety athletes from swimming (SW)...

Sport, as a microcosm of society, is not immune to the abuse of its stakeholders. Attention to abuse in sport has recently become a priority for sport organisations following several high-profile cases of athlete abuse from different sports around the world. Resulting from this increased awareness, many sport organisations have commenced work in th...

Objective To investigate the knowledge and management of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), from the perspective of lightweight rowers and physiotherapists. Design Semi-structured individual qualitative interviews. Methods Physiotherapists who had worked with lightweight rowers, and current and former lightweight rowers (who had experie...

Objective: To analyze the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) 2020 athletes' understanding and perceptions of harassment and abuse in sport and their knowledge of reporting mechanisms. Design: A cohort study. Setting: The Winter YOG2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Participants: Accredited athletes at the YOG2020. Intervention: An athlete safegu...

The symptom similarities between training-overload (with or without an Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) diagnosis) and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) are significant, with both initiating from a hypothalamic–pituitary origin, that can be influenced by low carbohydrate (CHO) and energy availability (EA). In this narrative review we wish to s...

A recognised imbalance of power exists between athletes and sporting institutions. Recent cases of systemic athlete abuse demonstrate the relationship between power disparities and harassment and abuse in sport. Embedding human rights principles into sporting institutions is a critical step towards preventing harassment and abuse in sport. In 2017,...

Background Physical and sexual abuse victimization have been connected with negative effects on health long after the abuse has stopped. When athletes encounter situations of defeat and entrapment, the likelihood that suicidal ideation will emerge is increased in situations when negative motivational elements are present, for instance, at low level...

Background Egregious cases of athlete abuse continue to demonstrate the link between human rights and sport. However, it is unclear if athletes see themselves as rights-holders in the sports context, and what this means for preventing intentional injury (harassment and abuse). Objective Assess athletes’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about thei...

Purpose: Elite swimmers (Sw) have lower diastolic function compared to elite runners, possibly as an adaptation to the aquatic training environment. Water polo players (WP) and artistic swimmers (AS) are exposed to the same hydrostatic pressures as Sw, but are subject to different training intensities, postures, and hemodynamic stressors. Our purp...

Background: In 2015, the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) expanded its Certificates of Added Competence (CAC) program to include enhanced-skill certification in Care of Elderly, Family Practice Anesthesia, Palliative Care, and Sports and Exercise Medicine. We aimed to describe the impact of these 4 CACs on the provision of comprehensi...

Objective: To assess the mental health and experience of sport-related harassment and abuse of elite aquatic athletes and to analyze it in relation to gender and discipline. Design: Cross-sectional study using an anonymous survey. Setting: The FINA World Championships 2019. Participants: Registered athletes in the disciplines of swimming, di...

PurposeFactors such as prone body position, hydrostatic pressure, and intermittent breath-holding subject aquatic athletes to unique physical and environmental stressors during swimming exercise. The relationship between exposure to aquatic exercise and both arterial stiffness and wave reflection properties is not well-understood. This study assess...

Objective The purpose of this study was to identify the psychosocial determinants of (1) intention to use dietary supplements (DS) and (2) the behavior of engaging in supplementation by testing the fit of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Methods A total of 778 students at a Canadian university in Ontario completed a cross-sectional survey ass...

Both dietary and exercise behaviors need to be considered when examining underlying causes of low energy availability (LEA). The study assessed if exercise dependence is independently related to the risk of LEA with consideration of disordered eating and athlete calibre. Via survey response, female (n = 642) and male (n = 257) athletes were categor...

Purpose: Elite swimmers (SW) have reduced diastolic function compared to elite runners, possibly as an adaptation to the aquatic training environment. Water polo players (WP) and artistic swimmers (AS) are exposed to the same hydrostatic pressures as SW, but are subject to different training intensities, postures, and hemodynamic stressors. Our pur...

Since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, the aquatic sports have expanded both in participation and innovation over the last century. Beginning with swimming, diving, water polo, and later additions of artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving, the aquatics sports represent a core pillar of Olympic disciplines. The rapid expansion...

Background: The “athlete’s heart” has been well characterized, and it is known that remodeling is dependent on the nature of the hemodynamic-stimuli. Aquatic-athletes are exposed to hydrostatic pressures, postural anomalies, and breath-holds that likely drive distinct cardiac adaptation; however, the aquatic-athlete’s heart has not been specificall...

Elite volleyball athletes experience significant physical and psychological demands during the competitive season. The aim was to compare the dietary intake of male volleyball athletes with recommendations for sport and health, and to examine the association of physique traits and knee health on eating behaviours and of eating behaviours on reporte...

Objective: To assess the mental health and experience of sport-related harassment and abuse of athletes participating in the FINA World Championships 2019, and to analyse it in relation to gender and the aquatic disciplines. Design: Cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire. Methods: During the Championships, registered athletes (swimm...

Objective: The shoulder is the most common injury in swimming, followed by the knee and spine. The repetitive nature of swimming training may predispose a swimmer to injury. Several risk factors have been previously identified but the level of evidence and level of certainty that these risk factors predispose a swimmer to injury risk has yet to be...

Introduction: Students from low-income backgrounds (LIB) have been underrepresented in Canadian medical schools for over fifty years. Despite our awareness of this problem, little is known about the experiences of aspiring physicians from LIB in Canada who are working towards medical school admission. Consequently, we have little insight into the...

All sport events have inherent injury and illness risks for participants. Healthcare services for sport events should be planned and delivered to mitigate these risks which is the ethical responsibility of all sport event organisers. The objective of this paper was to develop consensus-driven guidelines describing the basic standards of services ne...

INTRODUCTION: It is well established that aerobic exercise induces beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, due in part to vascular remodeling. Previous investigations have shown that individuals who regularly participate in certain activities can demonstrate sport-dependent vascular adaptations. The vascular phenotype of elite-level aquatic at...

Background: Given the risks of inadvertent doping associated with dietary supplement (DS) use, it is critical to explore the extent of dependence of varsity athletes on DS to improve performance and support recovery. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into dietary supplementation practices among varsity athletes in a university setting i...

Objectives To develop an assessment and recognition tool to identify elite athletes at risk for mental health symptoms and disorders. Methods We conducted narrative and systematic reviews about mental health symptoms and disorders in active and former elite athletes. The views of active and former elite athletes (N=360) on mental health symptoms in...

Phenomenon: There is currently a move to provide residency programs with accurate competency-based assessments of their candidates, yet there is a gap in knowledge regarding the role and effectiveness of interventions in easing the transition to residency. The impact of key stakeholder engagement, learner-centeredness, intrinsic competencies, and a...

Objective: The primary objective of our study was to establish the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among professional football (ie, soccer; hereinafter "football") players during the COVID-19 emergency period, drawing comparisons with players assessed before exposure to the COVID-19 emergency period. Design: Observational comparati...

Background: The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine expanded its medical education across three campus sites (Hamilton, Niagara Regional and Waterloo Regional) in 2007. Ensuring the efficacy and equivalency of the quality of training are important accreditation considerations in distributed medical education. In addition, given the social accou...

Canadian medical school applicants come from homes that earn nearly $30K more than the general population confirming a long-perceived disparity in economic diversity among Canadian med students. That’s according to a new study from McMaster University, a public institution in Ontario. Researchers reviewed income characteristics for more than 26,000...

Background: The socioeconomic status of applicants to Canadian medical schools has been understudied in the past two decades. Institutional efforts have been made to address the lack of socioeconomic diversity across Canada during this time. We investigated the income characteristics of medical school applicants, as well as the relationship betwee...

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) convened a group of experts to develop a Position Statement addressing the problem of sexual violence in sport. The AMSSM Sexual Violence in Sport Task Force held a series of meetings over 7 months, beginning in July 2019. Following a literature review, the Task Force used an iterative proces...

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) convened a group of experts to develop a position statement addressing the problem of sexual violence in sport. The AMSSM Sexual Violence in Sport Task Force held a series of meetings over 7 months, beginning in July 2019. Following a literature review, the task force used an iterative proces...

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) convened a group of experts to develop a Position Statement addressing the problem of sexual violence in sport. The AMSSM Sexual Violence in Sport Task Force held a series of meetings over 7 months, beginning in July 2019. Following a literature review, the task force used an iterative proces...

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) convened a group of experts to develop a Position Statement addressing the problem of sexual violence in sport. The AMSSM Sexual Violence in Sport Task Force held a series of meetings over 7 months, beginning in July 2019. Following a literature review, the task force used an iterative proces...

Objectives To develop an assessment tool for the early identification of elite athletes potentially at risk for experiencing mental health symptoms and disorders Stepwise approach Firstly, narrative and systematic reviews of the scientific literature about mental health symptoms and disorders in active and former elite athletes were conducted. Seco...

The “Aquatic Sports” comprised of six forms of competition: pool swimming (divided into short course 25 m and long course 50 m/Olympic events), open water swimming (distances ranging from 5 to 57 K with the 10 K being the Olympic Marathon Open Water event), diving (1 and 3 m spring board, 3 and 10 m platform), high diving (24 m for women and 27 m f...

BACKGROUND. The socioeconomic status of applicants to Canadian medical schools has been understudied in the past two decades. Institutional efforts have been made to address the lack of socioeconomic diversity across Canada during this time. We investigated the income characteristics of medical school applicants, as well as the relationship between...

Sports-related concussions (SRC) are traumatic brain injuries induced as the result of a biomechanical force to the body that temporarily impair neurological functions. Not all traumatic impacts reach the threshold necessary to produce concussive symptoms; however, the culmination of these events is known as a subconcussive impact (SCI). Athletes w...

The monitoring of body composition is common in sports given the association with performance. Surface anthropometry is often preferred when monitoring changes for its convenience, practicality, and portability. However, anthropometry does not provide valid estimates of absolute lean tissue in elite athletes. The aim of this investigation was to de...

Objective To examine associations between suicidal ideation and sexual and physical abuse among active and recently retired elite athletics (track and field) athletes. Methods The study population consisted of all athletes (n=402) selected for a Swedish Athletics team between 2011 and 2017. Data on suicidal ideation, suicidal events (estimated thr...

Injury and illness surveillance, and epidemiological studies, are fundamental elements of concerted efforts to protect the health of the athlete. To encourage consistency in the definitions and methodology used, and to enable data across studies to be compared, research groups have published 11 sport-specific or setting-specific consensus statement...

Background Injury and illness surveillance, and epidemiological studies, are fundamental elements of concerted efforts to protect the health of the athlete. To encourage consistency in the definitions and methodology used, and to enable data across studies to be compared, research groups have published 11 sport- or setting-specific consensus statem...

BACKGROUND. The socioeconomic status of applicants to Canadian medical schools has been understudied in the past two decades. Institutional efforts have been made to address the lack of socioeconomic diversity across Canada during this time. We investigated the income characteristics of medical school applicants, as well as the relationship between...

Mental health symptoms and disorders amongst elite athletes have attracted a great deal of discussion recently. Current epidemiological evidence illustrates that mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes are prevalent and a concern for athletes, coaches, and sport organizations. Recently, seven consensus, expert, or position statements...

Elite athletes suffer many mental health symptoms and disorders at rates equivalent to or exceeding those of the general population. COVID-19 has created new strains on elite athletes, thus potentially increasing their vulnerability to mental health symptoms. This manuscript serves as a narrative review of the impact of the pandemic on management o...