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Reliability of Selected Health-Related Fitness Tests for Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder
Isabelle Demers1,2, Hélène Moffet1,2, Désirée B Maltais1,2
1Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), CIUSSS de la Capitale Nationale, Quebec City, Québec, Canada.
Insights
Health-related fitness tests show reliable test-retest results for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). These findings support using these measures to track fitness changes in individuals with DCD.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Motor Development
- Sports Medicine
Background:
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) impacts motor skills, affecting participation in physical activities.
- Assessing health-related fitness is crucial for intervention planning in children with DCD.
- Reliability data for fitness tests in this population is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the test-retest reliability of various health-related fitness tests in children with DCD.
- To calculate the minimal detectable change (MDC) at 90% and 95% confidence levels for these tests.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-one children with DCD (mean age 9.4 years) underwent repeated assessments of lower limb muscle strength (hand-held dynamometry, unilateral heel rise, standing broad jump), muscle endurance (Muscle Power Sprint Test), and cardiorespiratory endurance (20-metre Shuttle Run Test).
- Tests were administered twice with a 2-7 day interval.
- Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and MDC values were calculated.
Main Results:
- Excellent reliability (ICC > 0.93) was found for the Muscle Power Sprint Test.
- Good reliability (ICC 0.81-0.87) was observed for hand-held dynamometry, standing broad jump, and the 20-metre Shuttle Run Test.
- Moderate reliability (ICC 0.74) was noted for the unilateral heel rise test, with varying MDC values across tests.
Conclusions:
- The evaluated health-related fitness tests demonstrate good to excellent test-retest reliability in children with DCD.
- The calculated MDC values provide a threshold for detecting meaningful changes in fitness.
- These reliable measures can be effectively utilized to monitor fitness progression in this population.
Abstract:
Aim: To quantify test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change for 90 and 95% confidence levels (90MDC, 95MDC) for health-related fitness tests in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Methods: Lower limb muscle strength [hand-held dynamometry (HHD), unilateral heel rise test (UHRT), standing broad jump (SBJ)], muscle endurance [Muscle Power Sprint Test (MPST)] and cardiorespiratory endurance [20-metre Shuttle Run Test (20mSRT)] were evaluated twice (2-7 day interval) in 31 children with DCD (20 males, 9.4 years old ± 2.0). Results: Test-retest reliability was reported as intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) (2, 1) 95% confidence interval lower bounds. Values were excellent for MPST (peak and mean power: 0.93, 0.95), good for HHD (0.81-0.88), SBJ (0.82), and the 20mSRT (0.87) and moderate for UHRT (0.74). For HHD, the 90MDC and 95MDC were the largest for hip extensors (14.47, 12.14 Nm) and the smallest for ankle dorsiflexors (1.55, 1.30 Nm). For UHRT, SBJ, MPST and the 20mSRT, these MDC values were 11.90, 9.98 repetitions; 25.49, 21.38 cm; 4.70, 3.94 W (mean power), and 6.45, 5.42 W (peak power) and 0.87, 0.73 (number of stages), respectively. Conclusion: These tests yield reliable test-retest results that can be used to evaluate fitness changes in this group.
