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SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR IN ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT DOWN SYNDROME

Abstract

Sydni L. Carter, Brantley K. Ballenger, Grant Norman, Stamatis Agiovlasitis, FACSM. Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS.

BACKGROUND: Low physical activity levels and high sedentary behavior have been observed among adults with Down syndrome (DS). Further investigation of sedentary behavior can provide insight into the behavior patterns of adults with DS. The purpose of this study was to compare sedentary behavior levels and patterns between people with and without DS matched for age, race, and sex. METHODS: Fifteen adults with DS (age 41±12 yrs.; 7 men) and 15 adults without DS (non-DS; age 37±11 yrs.; 7 men) wore a triaxial accelerometer (wGT3X-BT, Actigraph) on the non-dominant hip to measure sedentary behavior levels. Specific sedentary vector magnitude cut points were used for adults with DS (<236 counts/min) and non-DS (<200 counts/min). Sedentary bout analysis was performed based on ≥1 min, ≥10 min, ≥30 min, and ≥60 min bout lengths. Independent samples t-tests were performed to determine differences between groups for sedentary behavior variables. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups for wear days (DS: 6±1 days, non-DS: 7±1 days, p=.231) or wear time (DS: 5354±1329 min, non-DS: 5577±819 min, p=.292). Adults with DS had significantly fewer sedentary bouts lasting 10 min (DS: 66±32 bouts, non-DS: 89±26 bouts, p=.023), and 30 min (DS: 11±7 bouts, non-DS: 19±13 bouts, p=.019), but there was no difference between groups for bouts lasting 1 min (DS: 562±137 bouts, non-DS: 499±152 bouts, p=.121) and 60 min (DS: 2±2 bouts, non-DS: 5±6 bouts, p=.056). Adults with DS had significantly less average sedentary bout length for bouts lasting 1 min (DS: 5±1 min, non-DS: 8±5 min, p=.023) and 60 min (DS: 40±40 min, non-DS: 65±36 min, p=.043), but bouts lasting 10 min (DS: 21±3 min, non-DS: 23±7 min, p=.073) and 30 min (DS: 47±7 min, non-DS: 48±9 min, p=.301) did not differ. Even when the number of bouts between groups were not different (≥1 min and ≥60 min), adults with DS spent less average time in the bout duration. Also, adults with DS had similar average bout duration while performing fewer overall bouts (≥10 min and ≥30 min). CONCLUSION: Adults with DS performed shorter and fewer bouts of sedentary behavior than adults without DS. Therefore, adults with DS may break up sedentary bouts at a higher rate than non-DS. Funding: Mississippi State University Office of Research and Economic Development and I’m An Athlete Foundation

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