An Exploratory Study Of Time-segmented Patterns Of Physical Activity Among Young Children With Down Syndrome

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA), at any intensity, is essential for healthy growth and development, especially for young children with Down syndrome (DS) who are at greater risk for developing secondary health conditions. Yet, little is known about typical PA patterns among this population. This pilot study aims to investigate the time-segmented distribution of total PA (TPA) among 2-6 year old children with DS. METHODS: A convenience sample of 12 ambulatory children with DS and their parents were recruited through community partners. Children wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer on the non-dominant wrist for 7 consecutive days and devices were initialized to sample acceleration at 60 Hz across 1-second epochs. Choi (2011) algorithms were applied to determine periods of non-wear time during waking hours (6 am - 9 pm), and Johanssen (2016) wrist-worn cut-points were applied to determine time spent in TPA. Waking hours were further segmented into 5 distinct categories: Early Morning (6 am-9 am), Late Morning (9 am-12 pm), Early Afternoon (12 pm-3 pm), Late Afternoon (3 pm-6 pm), and Evening (6 pm-9 pm). Children with ≥5 hours of wear time·day-1 for ≥1 weekend day and ≥ 3 weekdays were included in analyses. RESULTS: Most participating children (n = 12, mean age = 4.2 ± 1.3 years, 50% female) were non-Hispanic white (83.3%) and spent their days at home with a parent rather than in a childcare setting (66.7%). Four children were excluded from analyses due to inadequate wear time. Among included children (n = 8), average wear time was 732.95 ± 141.51 min·day-1 and TPA was 286.73 ± 70.19 min·day1. An ANOVA revealed a fixed effect between TPA and time (F(4,264) = 12.20, p < 0.0001). Children with DS engaged in significantly more TPA (76.08 ± 19.22 min) during the Late Morning (9 am-12 pm) compared with Early Morning (46.48 ± 19.33 min, p < 0.0001), Early Afternoon (51.20 ± 28.93 min, p < 0.0001) and Evening (62.35 ± 27.12 min, p < 0.05) time segments. CONCLUSION: Young children with DS were significantly more active in the late morning compared to other time-segmented periods of the day. Further research on relevant social and environmental factors that influence TPA during specific time periods may inform opportunities for intervention. Supported by: This study was supported by a 2024 University of Nebraska at Omaha’s University Committee on Research and Creative Activity (UCRCA) minigrant.