Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity
Background: Many research studies have investigated motor impairments and delayed development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). However, very few studies detected these features in adults with DS. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between motor coordination and global develo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/17/5031 |
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| author | Marianna Alesi Valerio Giustino Ambra Gentile Manuel Gómez-López Giuseppe Battaglia |
| author_facet | Marianna Alesi Valerio Giustino Ambra Gentile Manuel Gómez-López Giuseppe Battaglia |
| author_sort | Marianna Alesi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Many research studies have investigated motor impairments and delayed development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). However, very few studies detected these features in adults with DS. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between motor coordination and global development in subjects with DS, including adults. Furthermore, the second aim was to detect any differences in motor coordination and global development as a function of the practice of physical activity (PA) in this population. Methods: Twenty-five participants with DS (10 f, 15 m), with a chronological mean age of 27.24 years and development mean age of cognitive area of 4.93 years, were enrolled and divided into a physically active group (PA-G; <i>n</i> = 15) and a physically inactive group (PI-G; <i>n</i> = 10). All participants performed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) to assess fine and gross motor skills, while the Developmental Profile 3 (DP-3) checklist was administered to the parents in order to screen strengths and weaknesses of five developmental areas of their relatives with DS. Results: Our results showed positive correlations between the following variables: global motor coordination and global development, global motor coordination and adaptive behavior development area, aiming and catching skills and global development, aiming and catching skills and adaptive behavior development area. As for the practice of PA, PA-G showed higher scores than PI-G in all the tasks of both the M-ABC and the DP-3, though significant differences were found only for the global motor coordination, for the aiming and catching skills, as well as for the physical development area. Conclusions: The findings of this study reinforce the need to implement and encourage the practice of PA in order to promote well-being and social inclusion in subjects with DS. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:39:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bbb47ae414f6435d81d79a278b8424d3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:39:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-bbb47ae414f6435d81d79a278b8424d32023-11-23T13:26:29ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832022-08-011117503110.3390/jcm11175031Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical ActivityMarianna Alesi0Valerio Giustino1Ambra Gentile2Manuel Gómez-López3Giuseppe Battaglia4Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, ItalySport and Exercise Sciences Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90144 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Physical Activity and Sport, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Murcia, Santiago de la Ribera, 30720 Murcia, SpainSport and Exercise Sciences Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90144 Palermo, ItalyBackground: Many research studies have investigated motor impairments and delayed development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). However, very few studies detected these features in adults with DS. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between motor coordination and global development in subjects with DS, including adults. Furthermore, the second aim was to detect any differences in motor coordination and global development as a function of the practice of physical activity (PA) in this population. Methods: Twenty-five participants with DS (10 f, 15 m), with a chronological mean age of 27.24 years and development mean age of cognitive area of 4.93 years, were enrolled and divided into a physically active group (PA-G; <i>n</i> = 15) and a physically inactive group (PI-G; <i>n</i> = 10). All participants performed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) to assess fine and gross motor skills, while the Developmental Profile 3 (DP-3) checklist was administered to the parents in order to screen strengths and weaknesses of five developmental areas of their relatives with DS. Results: Our results showed positive correlations between the following variables: global motor coordination and global development, global motor coordination and adaptive behavior development area, aiming and catching skills and global development, aiming and catching skills and adaptive behavior development area. As for the practice of PA, PA-G showed higher scores than PI-G in all the tasks of both the M-ABC and the DP-3, though significant differences were found only for the global motor coordination, for the aiming and catching skills, as well as for the physical development area. Conclusions: The findings of this study reinforce the need to implement and encourage the practice of PA in order to promote well-being and social inclusion in subjects with DS.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/17/5031motor skillsmotor coordinationmotor developmentglobal developmentphysical activityDown Syndrome |
| spellingShingle | Marianna Alesi Valerio Giustino Ambra Gentile Manuel Gómez-López Giuseppe Battaglia Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity Journal of Clinical Medicine motor skills motor coordination motor development global development physical activity Down Syndrome |
| title | Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity |
| title_full | Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity |
| title_fullStr | Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity |
| title_short | Motor Coordination and Global Development in Subjects with Down Syndrome: The Influence of Physical Activity |
| title_sort | motor coordination and global development in subjects with down syndrome the influence of physical activity |
| topic | motor skills motor coordination motor development global development physical activity Down Syndrome |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/17/5031 |
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