Effects of motor competence on physical activity in children aged 3-6 years with developmental coordination disorder

Xi Fei, YANJIE CHEN, Shuo Yan, Yu Song
Purpose:

To investigate the differences in motor competence and physical activity between children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) aged 3-6 years and typically developing (TD) children, and to explore the relationship between motor competence and physical activity in children with DCD

Methods:

A total of 90 children with DCD aged 3-6 years (65 boys and 25 girls) in a children's hospital were selected. With gender and age as matching factors, 90 TD children who underwent routine physical examination in the same period in the hospital were selected 1:1 as the control group. Motor competence of children were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and the Test of Gross Motor Development; physical activity of children outside school was investigated using the Questionnaire of Parents of Physical Activities of Young Children; Independent samples t-tests were used to compare the motor competence and physical activity of children with DCD and TD; partial correlation and linear regression were used to explore the relationship between motor competence and physical activity in children with DCD.

Results:

The scores of manual dexterity, aiming and catching ball, balance ability and motor skills in DCD group were lower than those in TD Group (P & LT; 0.05) , there was no significant difference in TPA and MVPA between DCD Group and TD Group (P > 0.05)  Manual dexterity and motor skills of DCD children were positively correlated with MVPA at weekends (R = 0.237,0.260, P & Lt; 0.05) , aiming and catching were positively correlated with out-of-school MVPA during weekdays (r = 0.274, P = 0.010) , motor skills (β = 0.264, p = 0.038) , targeting and capture were positively correlated with MVPA at weekends in children with DCD (R = 0.237,0.260, P & LT; 0.05)(β = 0.287, p = 0.010) and were predictive of MVPA at weekends and off-campus MVPA on weekdays, respectively.

Conclusion(s):

The scores of manual dexterity, aiming and catching ball, balance ability and motor skills in DCD group were lower than those in TD Group (P & LT; 0.05) , there was no significant difference in TPA and MVPA between DCD Group and TD Group (P > 0.05)  Manual dexterity and motor skills of DCD children were positively correlated with MVPA at weekends (R = 0.237,0.260, P & Lt; 0.05) , aiming and catching were positively correlated with out-of-school MVPA during weekdays (r = 0.274, P = 0.010) , motor skills (β = 0.264, p = 0.038) , targeting and capture were positively correlated with MVPA at weekends in children with DCD (R = 0.237,0.260, P & LT; 0.05)(β = 0.287, p = 0.010) and were predictive of MVPA at weekends and off-campus MVPA on weekdays, respectively.

Implications:

Physical activity is not a characteristic indicator of DCD children and TD

Funding acknowledgements:
Beijing Society of chronic diseases, based on the paradigm of child motor development,
Keywords:
physical activity
developmental coordination disorder
motor competence
Primary topic:
Primary health care
Second topic:
Health promotion and wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Third topic:
Paediatrics
Did this work require ethics approval?:
Yes
Name the institution and ethics committee that approved your work:
Ethics Committee of Beijing Children's Hospital attached to the Capital University of Medical Sciences of the National Children's Medical Center
Provide the ethics approval number:
[2022]-E-138-Y
Has any of this material been/due to be published or presented at another national or international conference prior to the World Physiotherapy Congress 2025?:
Yes

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