Does physical activity improve adaptive behaviour, fitness, and quality of life of adults with intellectual disability?

Abstract

The effects of a physical activity program on adaptive behaviour, motor proficiency, fitness, and quality of life of 16 adults with intellectual disability (ID) were analysed. Portuguese versions of Adaptive Behavior Scale, Personal Outcomes Scale, Bruininsky-Oseretsky Motor Proficiency Test, and Fullerton scale were applied twice before, after, and one month after the program. Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were used and Bonferroni manual correction was performed to establish a new p-value. The control group stabilized performance over time, the experimental group improved in most domains, such as socialization (p <0.005), responsibility (p <0.005), and arm curl (p <0.01). Our findings call for tailor-made interventions to improve PA levels among adults with ID.

A systematic review of physical activity: benefits and needs for maintenance of quality of life among adults with intellectual disability

“…Although, the study by Carbo-Carretéa et al (40) confirmed that physical activity perceptions and individualized support habits are associated with improved quality of life. Diz et al (43) concluded that controls showed a better adaptive profile in most adaptive domains, except for time and numbers, sexual behaviour, and social interaction. This group's scores remained the same over time, while the experimental group's performance improved in most areas.…”

Physical Activity, Quality of Live and Well-Being in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disability

“…Of the 15 studies included in the systematic review, nine are from Europe (Portugal: [ 15 ]; Spain: [ 17 , 38 , 40 , 42 , 44 ]; United Kingdom: [ 18 ]; Ireland: [ 39 ]; Sweden: [ 41 ]), two are from Asia (Israel: [ 6 , 16 ]); two are from North America (USA: [ 45 , 47 ]), one is from Oceania (Australia: [ 46 ] and one is Eurasian (Turkey: [ 43 ]).…”

“…Out of a total of 1026 participants, 995 are people with IDD, while the remaining participants are family members of people with IDD, teachers, technical carers, and association presidents. With regard to the age of the participants, it mostly ranges from 16 to 66 years old [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 38 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 44 , 46 , 47 ], with only two studies using samples of children and adolescents aged between 4 and 14 [ 43 , 45 ] and one study with participants aged between 46 and 77 [ 6 ]. Only one of the included studies made no reference to the age of the sample [ 39 ].…”

“…The fundamental part, which consisted of swimming techniques with a high swimming speed, was organized into three sets of two repetitions × 15 m, with a 10 s passive rest and 1 min of active rest between sets. Finally, in the study by Diz et al [ 15 ], the study population took part in a PA program based on rhythmic exercises, muscle strength and amplitude, spatial orientation, balance, body awareness, attention and memory.…”

“…Research has highlighted the positive impact of PA and physical exercise (PE) in preventing diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension and obesity [ 7 , 12 ], as well as their contribution to improving physical fitness, with benefits for the individual’s general state of health, QoL and average life expectancy [ 13 , 14 ]. In this sense, different studies have shown that the practice of PA [ 7 , 15 ], PE [ 6 , 16 ] and sport [ 17 , 18 ] seems to be associated with an improvement in the perception of well-being and QoL of adults with IDD. It is also possible to verify that higher levels of functional capacity seem to contribute to higher QoL values [ 19 ].…”