Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and screen time among youths with Down syndrome during the COVID‐19 pandemic

• Published in: Journal of intellectual disability research 2022-12, Vol.66 (12), p.903-912
• Main Authors: Amatori, S., Sisti, D., Perroni, F., Brandi, G., Rocchi, M. B. L., Gobbi, E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Behavior change; Child; Children; Correlation; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Down Syndrome; Exercise; Female; Humans; intellectual disability; Male; Multivariate analysis; Pandemics; parenting; Parents; Parents & parenting; Physical activity; Retrospective Studies; Screen Time; sedentariness; Sedentary; Sedentary Behavior; Sociodemographics; Special Issue; Statistical Analysis; Time use; Young Adult; young adults
• ISSN: 0964-2633; 1365-2788; 1365-2788
• DOI: 10.1111/jir.12933

Background The COVID‐19‐related restrictions hampered habitual physical activity (PA), particularly affecting the more vulnerable, such as people with Down syndrome (DS). The study aimed to investigate changes in PA, sedentary behaviour (SB) and screen time (ST) of youths with DS, before, during and after the restrictions, also in relation to parental PA levels. Methods A cross‐sectional design with a retrospective assessment of variables for the before and during restrictions periods was adopted. Parents of youths with DS completed an online questionnaire. Sociodemographic aspects, weekly PA levels and youths' daily SB and ST were investigated, referring to three time‐points: before the pandemic, during the restrictions and the restrictions‐easing phase. Results A total of 57 parents voluntarily participated in the study, proxy‐reporting on their child (male = 41, female = 16, age = 21.4 ± 7.7 years). A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance showed negative effects of restrictions (P