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Physical activity levels in children with sensory problems: Cross-sectional analyses from the Millennium Cohort Study
Genevieve Williams1, Daniel Aggio2, Brendon Stubbs3
1The Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Department of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
Insights
Children with vision problems affecting both eyes have lower physical activity levels. This highlights the need for strategies to encourage activity in visually impaired children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Ophthalmology
- Physical Activity Research
Background:
- Sensory impairments like hearing and vision problems are linked to higher mortality risk in adults, potentially via reduced physical activity.
- The impact of sensory impairments on physical activity levels in childhood remains under-researched.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between hearing and vision problems and objectively measured physical activity in British children.
- To understand if sensory impairments in childhood affect activity levels.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Millennium Cohort Study (sweep 4) involving 7-year-old children.
- Assessed vision and hearing problems via parental reports and physical activity using accelerometry.
- Employed adjusted linear regression analysis on a sample of 6410 children with complete data.
Main Results:
- 16.7% of children reported vision problems, and 11.6% reported hearing problems.
- Vision problems in both eyes were associated with a reduction of 2 minutes/day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and nearly 200 fewer steps daily.
- No significant association was found between hearing problems and activity levels.
Conclusions:
- Children experiencing visual impairment in both eyes exhibit lower objectively measured physical activity.
- Interventions promoting physical activity are recommended for children with visual impairments.
Background:
Hearing and vision impairments/problems are associated with increased risk of premature mortality in adulthood. One potential pathway explaining this association is reduced levels of physical activity. Reductions in activity levels due to sensory impairments may commence earlier in life; however, associations between sensory impairments/problems and activity levels in childhood are not well understood.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to examine associations between hearing and vision problems and objectively measured activity levels in a representative sample of British children.
Methods:
Data were drawn from sweep 4 of the Millennium Cohort Study, a prospective cohort study among children aged 7. Child hearing and vision problems were reported by parents in a postal survey. Children were also invited to have their physical activity measured objectively via accelerometry. A total of 6410 children had valid accelerometry data accompanied by complete survey data on the variables of interest. The main outcomes were objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, steps and sedentary time. Adjusted linear regression was used to examine associations between vision and hearing problems and objectively measured activity levels.
Results:
In this sample of 7-year old children, 16.7% (n = 1068) had a reported vision problem and 11.6% (n = 745) had a hearing problem. Reported vision problems in both eyes, but not one eye, was associated with 2 fewer minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day (B = -2.1 95% Confidence Intervals [CI] -3.9 to -0.4) and almost 200 fewer steps per day (B = -198.4 95% CI, -398.4 to 1.6). Hearing problems were not associated with activity levels in either one or both ears.
Conclusion:
Children with visual problems affecting both eyes, but not one eye, are likely to have lower levels of physical activity. Strategies to promote physical activity in children with visual problems are warranted.
