EFFECTIVENESS OF EXERCISE ON PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE IN PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY WITH OR WITHOUT COVID-19

R.L.C. Kwan¹, E.Y.L. Ho¹, A.M.S. Wu¹, L.K.Y. Wong¹, D.S.C. Cheung¹, G.P.Y. Szeto¹

¹Tung Wah College, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Background: People with intellectual disability exhibit many physical impairments such as coordination, flexibility, and balance which affect their daily functions. They often adopt a sedentary lifestyle and lack motivation to exercise, resulting in obesity, poor fitness and secondary health problems. Exercise training can improve the physical functions of people with intellectual disability and promote better quality of life. However, COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented restrictions that affected their physical activity level significantly.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of introducing an exercise training program specially designed for people with intellectual disability on their physical fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Seventy-four people with mild to severe intellectual disability (age=45.83±11.34 years; 44 males and 30 females; 45 with COVID-19) participated in a specially designed exercise training program. Each session lasts for 1 hour and comprises of mobilizing exercises, muscle strengthening, coordination training, endurance and cardiovascular fitness training. Each participant received training sessions twice a week for 8 weeks. The exercise session was led by physiotherapist(s) and assistants in person with 8 to 10 participants in each group, while pre-recorded videotapes specially produced for this exercise program were played during the session. Outcome measures on physical performance included waist girth, sit and reach test, 30-sec chair stand repetitions, 4-meter comfortable gait speed and short physical performance battery score were used. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to analysis the difference in the performance between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups before and after the exercise.

Results: Significant within group improvement were shown in the participants with or without COVID-19 after 8 weeks of exercise training program respectively in 30-sec chair stand repetitions (from 9.02±3.43 to 10.29±2.77; from 10.93±2.70 to 11.64±2.76 repetitions, P=0.012), 4-meter comfortable gait speed (from 5.76±3.27 to 5.26±2.85; from 4.15±1.04 to 3.77±0.83 seconds, P=0.007), and short physical performance battery score (from 8.07±2.58 to 9.17±2.43; from 9.00±1.84 to 10.57±1.34, P<0.001). There is slight increase in sit and reach test but no statistical significance was found (from 12.29±13.35 to 14.41±13.78; from 10.11±14.86 to 10.54±13.68 cm, P=0.305). However, significance decrease in waist girth was only found in COVID-19 group (from 83.76±9.19 to 82.41±9.33 cm, P=0.005) but not in the non-COVID-19 group (from 83.91±6.85 to 83.95±6.48 cm, P=0.960).

Conclusions: A specially designed exercise training program was effective in enhancing the physical performance in people with intellectual disability with or without COVID-19.

Implications: People with intellectual disability have lower levels of physical fitness compared with those without intellectual disability. The emergence of COVID-19 led to global restrictions in normal physical activities. During lockdown restrictions, people were prohibited from attending gyms and exercise facilities. This problem has affected the people with intellectual disability even more seriously. A specially designed exercise training program has demonstrated positive effects for this vulnerable group to stay physically active and subsequently promote their mental health under the pandemic. It is thus recommended to implement regular exercise training in people with intellectual disability with or without COVID-19.

Funding acknowledgements: Tung Wah Group of Hospitals “An evaluation study on the effectiveness of an exercise programme for people with intellectual disability”.

Keywords:
Intellectual disability
Exercise
Physical fitness

Topics:
Intellectual disability
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Community based rehabilitation

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Tung Wah College

Committee: Research Ethics Committee (REC)

Ethics number: REC2021114