title: Relationship of aerobic fitness and motor skills with memory and attention in preschoolers (Ballabeina): a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The debate about a possible relationship between aerobic fitness and motor skills with cognitive development in children has recently re-emerged, because of the decrease in children's aerobic fitness and the concomitant pressure of schools to enhance cognitive performance. As the literature in young children is scarce, we examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship of aerobic fitness and motor skills with spatial working memory and attention in preschool children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 245 ethnically diverse preschool children (mean age: 5.2 (0.6) years, girls: 49.4%) analyzed at baseline and 9 months later. Assessments included aerobic fitness (20 m shuttle run) and motor skills with agility (obstacle course) and dynamic balance (balance beam). Cognitive parameters included spatial working memory (IDS) and attention (KHV-VK). All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, migration status, parental education, native language and linguistic region. Longitudinal analyses were additionally adjusted for the respective baseline value.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the cross-sectional analysis, aerobic fitness was associated with better attention (r=0.16, p=0.03). A shorter time in the agility test was independently associated with a better performance both in working memory (r=-0.17, p=0.01) and in attention (r=-0.20, p=0.01). In the longitudinal analyses, baseline aerobic fitness was independently related to improvements in attention (r=0.16, p=0.03), while baseline dynamic balance was associated with improvements in working memory (r=0.15, p=0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In young children, higher baseline aerobic fitness and motor skills were related to a better spatial working memory and/or attention at baseline, and to some extent also to their future improvements over the following 9 months.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  clinicaltrials.gov NCT00674544.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320b, 4052 Basel, Switzerland. iris.niederer@unibas.ch
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Niederer
authors.forename: Susi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kriemler
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gut
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schindler
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barral
authors.forename: Jardena J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Puder
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000523:psychology*