Inattention and hyperactivity symptoms in childhood predict physical activity in adolescence

Abstract

Background Physical activity has been documented to influence several aspects of physical and mental health. Growing evidence shows that physical activity can improve attention. Less is known about how symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity / impulsivity in childhood are associated with physical activity in adolescence. We aimed to explore this relationship further. Methods We used a cohort of 3949 Swedish children (1884 boys and 2065 girls) with data collected at ages 9 (or 12) and 15. We investigated the influence of symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity / impulsivity in childhood – age 9/12 (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity separately) on self-rated physical activity at age 15, using multiple logistic regression models. We considered potential confounders such as sex, parental education level, physical activity in childhood and neurodevelopmental comorbidity. A cluster robust sandwich estimator was applied to adjust the standard errors for the nested twin data when computing the regression models. Results Symptoms of inattention in childhood (9/12) predicted less physical activity in adolescence (age 15) (OR = 0.83 CI = 0.78–0.89), whereas the opposite was true for hyperactivity/impulsivity (OR = 1.08 CI = 1.02–1.10). These associations still remained when taking possible confounders into account including neurodevelopmental and neurodevelopmental related comorbidity. Conclusions These findings support the importance of helping children and adolescents with inattention symptoms to engage in physical activity in suitable settings.

Do Poor Diet and Lifestyle Behaviors Modify the Genetic Susceptibility to Impulsivity in the General Population?

“…Interestingly, we found that time spent on MVPA was positively associated with impulsivity. This is in line with several previous studies [ 49 , 50 ]. For instance, a longitudinal study on Swedish children showed that hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in childhood were associated with a higher likelihood of being physically active in adolescence, whereas the opposite was true for inattention [ 49 ].…”

“…This is in line with several previous studies [ 49 , 50 ]. For instance, a longitudinal study on Swedish children showed that hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in childhood were associated with a higher likelihood of being physically active in adolescence, whereas the opposite was true for inattention [ 49 ]. As the cross-sectional and observational nature of our study prevents causal inferences, these observed associations might indicate an effect of impulsivity on diet and other lifestyle factors, an effect of diet and other lifestyle factors on impulsivity, or both.…”

Physical and Extracurricular Activity in Adolescents With and Without ADHD: Examining Group Differences and the Role of Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome Symptoms

“…For instance, Khalife et al (2014) found that childhood ADHD-IN symptoms were prospectively associated with obesity via physical inactivity. Another study found ADHD-IN symptoms, but not ADHD-HI symptoms, to predict less physical activity in adolescence, after controlling for demographic factors (Selinus et al, 2021). Although the proposed mechanism linking ADHD and physical inactivity at the neurobiological level does not differentiate ADHD-IN and ADHD-HI symptoms given the proposed widespread impact on dopamine and norepinephrine release throughout the brain (including proposed differential regions underlying ADHD-IN and ADHD-HI symptoms; Chang et al, 2012; Wigal et al, 2013), the behavioral link between ADHD-IN and physical inactivity has been hypothesized to be related to executive functioning deficits that could be specific to ADHD-IN symptoms (e.g., difficulties with meta-cognitive awareness, difficulties with structure and organization that would be required within team-based sports; Khalife et al, 2014).…”

“…Despite the extant literature documenting less physical activity in adolescents with ADHD, a major limitation is that the majority of these studies are drawn from population-based samples where ADHD is defined based solely on caregiver report that their child had been previously diagnosed with ADHD by a clinician (Kim et al, 2011; Tandon et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2022), and the measurement of physical activity includes one-item assessing exercise frequency (Kim et al, 2011; Selinus et al, 2021; Tandon et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2022). In order to augment our understanding of the nature of physical inactivity in adolescents with ADHD, it is important to utilize more comprehensively diagnosed samples and to examine the type (e.g., independent exercise, structured activities like sports participation), frequency (e.g., times each week), intensity (e.g., breathing hard), duration (e.g., 20-min, 60-min), and timing (e.g., after school, on weekends, in free time) of physical activity in adolescents diagnosed with ADHD.…”

“…Consistent with prior studies (Aranas & Leighton, 2022; Holton & Nigg, 2020; Khalife et al, 2014; Kim et al, 2011; Mercurio et al, 2021; Nigg, 2013; Rommel et al, 2015; Suarez-Manzano et al, 2018; Tandon et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2022), we expected that adolescents diagnosed with ADHD would be involved in fewer extracurricular activities, and would also engage in physical and other types of activities less often than adolescents without ADHD. Following prior studies linking ADHD-IN symptoms to less physical activity (Khalife et al, 2014; Selinus et al, 2021), and hypotheses that behaviors of hypoactivity (which are key in CDS) might be a risk factor for physical inactivity (Nigg, 2013), we hypothesized that ADHD-IN and CDS symptoms would both be associated with less exercise and activity involvement. Importantly, we addressed limitations to the prior literature by using both parent- and self-report of ADHD symptoms and using multi-dimensional measures of physical activity.…”