Associations Between Meeting 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Health Indicators in Children with and Without Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders

Background: It remains unclear whether adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines is beneficial for children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDDs). Methods: The results of the 2016–2020 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) in the U.S. were used in this study. All types of MBDDs, adherence to the different movement guidelines (physical activity [PA], screen time [ST], and sleep), and various health indicators (general physical health, emotional regulation, cognitive and social functioning) were parent-reported. Weighted logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines and health indicators in children with and without MBDDs. Results: The majority of children with MBDDs had a lower weighted proportion of meeting the PA, ST, and sleep guidelines compared to those without MBDDs (all p values < 0.05). Less than half of the associations between adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines and the different health indicators were significant among children with MBDDs, while the associations were all significant among children without MBDDs (ORs ranged 1.22–2.10, all p values < 0.05). When there were no between-group differences in the statistically significant associations between guideline adherence and health indicators (e.g., sleep guideline and general physical health), children with specific MBDDs can achieve comparable health benefits through adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines (e.g., children with emotional disorders or developmental disorders experience better general physical health through adherence to the sleep guideline). Conclusion: We highlight the prioritization of the 24-hour guidelines for different health indicators among children with various MBDDs, and children with certain MBDDs could attain similar health benefits as those without these conditions by adhering to the 24-hour movement guidelines.