Moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity and processing speed: predicting adaptive change in ADHD levels and related impairments in preschoolers

Abstract

Background Preschool ADHD symptoms have predictive utility for later presence of ADHD diagnoses (Harvey, Youngwirth, Thakar, & Errazuriz, 2009, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 349; Lahey et al., 2004, American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(11), 2014), yet some level of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are present even in typically developing preschoolers. Physical activity (PA) is known to have a broad spectrum of positive effects on the brain in school‐age typically developing children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010, The association between school based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), including functions impaired by ADHD (Halperin, Berwid, & O'Neill, 2014, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 23, 899), yet links between PA and ADHD levels and impairments have rarely been studied in either typically developing or at‐risk preschool children. Importantly, impaired processing speed (PS), though not a symptom of ADHD, is a robust neuropsychological correlate (Willcutt & Bidwell, 2011, Treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Assessment and intervention in developmental context. Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute) that may indicate additional risk for ADHD. Hence, we examined whether baseline PS moderates the association between preschoolers' PA, specifically moderate‐to‐vigorous PA (MVPA), and changes in ADHD levels and related behaviors. Method Eighty‐five preschoolers (49.4% female; Mage = 4.14, SDage = .64) were drawn from a larger study of the effects of the Kiddie Children and Teachers (CATs) on the Move PA program on school readiness. The sample was largely Head Start eligible (68.2%) and ethnically diverse. Hierarchical regressions were utilized to examine links between MVPA, averaged over a school year, and changes in inattention (IA), hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), oppositional behaviors, moodiness, and peer functioning, and whether these associations varied based on baseline PS. Results Results indicated that for IA, HI, and peer functioning, higher amounts of MVPA were associated with greater adaptive change for those with lower (but not higher) levels of PS. Conclusions Preschool MVPA may be a viable method of reducing ADHD levels and impairments for those with lower PS.

Physical Activity, Fitness, School Readiness, and Cognition in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review

“…Additional mixed results were reported by 3 recent longitudinal studies for prospective relations between physical activity and behavior measures (eg, problem behaviors and social/emotional skills) and executive function measures. 42,51,52 Objectively measured physical activity studies: Over half of the longitudinal studies that evaluated physical activity measured it objectively (n = 5). As described above, the 2 studies examining prospective associations between physical activity (parameterized as total activity and meeting guidelines) with later social and emotional skills were null.…”

“…42 Moderate to vigorous physical activity and physical activity guideline compliance were associated with some changes in school year measures of problem behaviors and school readiness. 51,52 However, these findings were drawn from a physical activity intervention study, so observational results could possibly be confounded by the experimental condition. Overall, the quality of evidence for longitudinal studies with device-measured physical activity was "low.…”

Effects of physical exercise on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…However, the above studies mostly examined the immediate or long-term benefits of exercise intervention and less analyze the neurophysiological and neuropsychological effects of exercise model, and exercise intensity. In addition, although inattention problems in 50% of the children with ADHD improve with age, impulsivity symptoms continue into adulthood [ 19 ].…”

Processing Speed and Time since Diagnosis Predict Adaptive Functioning Measured with WeeFIM in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors

“…PS proved to be a significant explanatory factor in our models of AF outcomes. The relationship between PS and AF has also been reported in other clinical populations, such as in TBI [ 13 ], autism patients [ 61 , 62 ], and children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder [ 63 , 64 ].…”