title: Assessment of cardiorespiratory and neuromotor fitness in children with developmental coordination disorder.
abstract: The decreased participation in physical activity by children with probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD) has raised concerns about their aerobic fitness and lung function levels. The purpose of the present study was to examine assessment of cardiorespiratory and neuromotor fitness, using laboratory-based tests during an incremental treadmill protocol in healthy children with and without pDCD. Twenty sex children ages 6-9 years took part in this study. Motor coordination was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). All participants performed a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) on a cycle ergometer. Pulmonary function was assessed by spirometric measurements (forced vital capacity: FVC, forced expiratory volume in 1s: FEV1) and walking distance (6MWD) was assessed using the 6-min walking test. The children with pDCD had lower VO2max than children without pDCD (p < 0.01). Moreover, FVC and FEV1 were significantly higher in children without pDCD than in children with the disorder (p < 0.05, p < 0.01 respectively). Likewise, children with pDCD had poorer performance on the 6MWD than children without pDCD (p < 0.01). A significant correlation between the absolute value for FEV1 and 6MWD (r = 0.637, p < 0.05) in pDCD group was observed. We found a significant correlation between VO2max and MABC score (r = -0.612, p < .001) and between VO2max and 6MWD (r = 0.502, p < .001) for all children. Moreover, a significant correlation between VO2max and FEV1 (r = 0.668, p < .05) was found in children with pDCD. Overall, the reduced aerobic capacity of DCD was associated with decreased of lung function, as well as an alteration of peripheral muscle responses.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit EM2S: Education, Motricité, Sport et Santé" ISSEP, Sfax, Tunisia. Electronic address: faicalfarhat@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Faiçal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.affiliation: Service d'Explorations Fonctionnelles, Unité d'Effort Cardio-pulmonaire, Hôpital Habib Bourguiba, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Kaouthar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masmoudi
authors.affiliation: Departments of Family Medicine and Kinesiology, The Infant Child Health (INCH) Research Lab, and The CanChild Centre for Studies in Childhood Disability, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cairney
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Neuropediatry UR.0805, Hedi Chaker Hosîtal Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hsairi
authors.affiliation: Research Unit Neuropediatry UR.0805, Hedi Chaker Hosîtal Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Chahinez
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Triki
authors.affiliation: Research Unit EM2S: Education, Motricité, Sport et Santé" ISSEP, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Wassim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Moalla
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D014797:Vital Capacity / Q000502:physiology
keywords: 6-Min walking test; Aerobic fitness; Developmental coordination disorder; Pulmonary function