Interindividual Variability in Mental Fatigue-Related Impairments in Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review and Multiple Meta-regression

BACKGROUND: The negative effect of mental fatigue (MF) on physical performance has recently been questioned. One reason behind this could lie in the interindividual differences in MF-susceptibility and the individual features influencing them. However, the range of individual differences in mental fatigue-susceptibility is not known, and there is no clear consensus on which individual features could be responsible for these differences. OBJECTIVE: To give an overview of interindividual differences in the effects of MF on whole-body endurance performance, and individual features influencing this effect. METHODS: The review was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42022293242). PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus and PsycINFO were searched until the 16th of June 2022 for studies detailing the effect of MF on dynamic maximal whole-body endurance performance. Studies needed to include healthy participants, describe at least one individual feature in participant characteristics, and apply at least one manipulation check. The Cochrane crossover risk of bias tool was used to assess risk of bias. The meta-analysis and regression were conducted in R. RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies were included, with 23 added to the meta-analysis. Overall risk of bias of the included studies was high, with only three presenting an unclear or low rating. The meta-analysis shows the effect of MF on endurance performance was on average slightly negative (g = − 0.32, [95% CI − 0.46; − 0.18], p < 0.001). The multiple meta-regression showed no significant influences of the included features (i.e. age, sex, body mass index and physical fitness level) on MF-susceptibility. CONCLUSIONS: The present review confirmed the negative impact of MF on endurance performance. However, no individual features influencing MF-susceptibility were identified. This can partially be explained by the multiple methodological limitations such as underreporting of participant characteristics, lack of standardization across studies, and the restricted inclusion of potentially relevant variables. Future research should include a rigorous description of multiple different individual features (e.g., performance level, diet, etc.) to further elucidate MF mechanisms. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40798-023-00559-7.