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Physical Fitness in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Systematic Review
Jorge Lopes Cavalcante Neto1, Tatiane Targino Gomes Draghi2, Iklessys Will Pereira Dos Santos1
1Department of Human Sciences, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Jacobina, Bahia, Brazil.
Insights
Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) exhibit significantly lower physical fitness compared to typically developing peers. This deficit is most pronounced in aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, and muscle strength.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Movement Science
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting motor skills.
- Children with DCD often experience challenges in daily activities and may have associated health issues.
- Understanding physical fitness differences is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize evidence on physical fitness in children with DCD versus typically developing (TD) children.
- To quantify the magnitude of differences in various physical fitness components.
- To inform clinical practice and future research directions.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted across four major databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO).
- Included studies were cross-sectional, case-control, or cohort designs comparing children with and without DCD.
- Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), and Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated.
Main Results:
- Thirty-two studies of moderate to high quality were included in the synthesis.
- Large effect sizes favoring TD children were found for aerobic capacity (d=1.15), anaerobic capacity (d=0.90), and muscle strength (d=0.79).
- Small effect sizes were observed for body composition (d=0.43) and flexibility (d=0.21).
Conclusions:
- Children with DCD demonstrate significantly poorer physical fitness compared to their TD peers.
- The most substantial deficits are evident in aerobic and anaerobic capacity, and muscle strength.
- These findings highlight the importance of addressing physical fitness in the management of DCD.
Objective:
To synthesize evidence about physical fitness levels in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) compared with typically developing (TD) children.
Methods:
We searched four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO) for cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort studies comparing physical fitness between children with and without DCD. We assessed the methodological quality of the studies with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). We calculated Cohen's d effect sizes to provide clinical evidence of group differences in aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, muscle strength, body composition and flexibility.
Results:
We included 32 studies for qualitative synthesis after applying eligibility criteria. All selected studies ranged from moderate to high research quality. Effect sizes in favor of typically developing children over children with DCD were large for aerobic capacity (d = 1.15), anaerobic capacity (d = 0.90), and muscle strength (d = 0.79), and small for body composition (d = 0.43) and flexibility (d = 0.21) outcomes.
Conclusion:
Children with DCD presented significantly lower physical fitness than their typically developing peers, particularly in aerobic and anaerobic capacity and in muscle strength.
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