Children With Congenital Heart Disease and the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Public Health
• Exercise Science

Background:

• Holistic health in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) is influenced by physical activity (PA), sedentary time, screen time, and sleep.
• Current adherence of children with CHD to the Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize evidence on the physical activity, sedentary time, screen time, and sleep behaviors of children with CHD.
• To compare these behaviors against the Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across six databases for studies published between January 2010 and May 2024.
• Included studies focused on children aged 4-20 years with any CHD lesion, measuring at least one of PA, sedentary time, screen time, or sleep.

Main Results:

• Out of 9199 initial articles, 30 were included. Most studies measured moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), with 40% reporting guideline adherence.
• An average of 43% of children with CHD met the MVPA guidelines across included studies.
• Limited data exists for light PA, sedentary time, screen time, and sleep, with no clear conclusions possible for light PA and sedentary time due to guideline ambiguity.

Conclusions:

• Children with CHD demonstrate partial adherence to MVPA guidelines, but significant gaps exist in understanding their overall movement behaviors.
• Further research is critically needed to evaluate screen time and sleep patterns in this population.
• Establishing clear benchmarks for all components of the 24-hour movement guidelines is essential for children with CHD.