Search

Background: Despite reported physical and functional improvements with aerobic and sprint interval training (SIT) protocols in individuals with intellectual disability (ID), it is not known if these interventions' effectivity would promote improvements in cardiac autonomic modulation. This study aimed to investigate if a 6‐month SIT or a continuous aerobic programme could enhance physical performance and cardiac autonomic modulation at rest, during physical activity (PA) and after it in older adults with an ID. Methods: This is a randomised control trial. Participants with ID (age: 50.58 ± 7.25) were allocated to one of three groups [multicomponent aerobic training group (MATG), multicomponent interval sprint training group (MISTG) and control group (CG)]. The programmes lasted 24 weeks, with three sessions/week, 75–90 min per session. The HRV was analysed at rest and recovery, the delta of heart rate (HR) was analysed during 6MWT, and the HR t‐off kinetics was analysed in recovery after 6MWT. Results: There were not found differences between groups, moments, or interaction for cardiac autonomic modulation at rest and recovery. During exercise, only MSITG showed a significant increase of HR between rest and the first 30 s of exercise (P < 0.05). Physical performance increased only in MSITG (P < 0.05), while CG showed a significant reduction (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The MSITG improved the physical performance and the vagal withdrawal at the beginning of the submaximal exercise. These findings suggest that high‐intensity exercise may positively impact baroreflex function, mitigating the decline in autonomic reflex response capacity associated with aging in individuals with ID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Following acute and sub-acute rehabilitation from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), minimal to no efficacious interventions to treat ongoing cognitive deficits are available. Aerobic exercise is a non-invasive behavioral intervention with promise to treat cognitive deficits in TBI populations., Methods: Six individuals, aged 24-62 years, with chronic (> 8 months since injury) severe (Glasgow Coma Scale of 3-8) TBI were recruited from two outpatient rehabilitation centers. In an A-B-A study design, 20-weeks of supervised aerobic exercise interventions were delivered three times per week (phase B) in addition to participants typical rehabilitation schedules (phases A). The effect of phase B was tested on a trail making test part B (primary outcome measure of executive function) as well as objective daily physical activity (PA), using both group level (linear mixed effect models) and single subject statistics., Results: Five of six participants increased trail-making test part B by more than 10% pre-to-post phase B, with three of six making a clinically meaningful improvement (+ 1SD in normative scores). A significant main effect of time was seen with significant improvement in trail-making test part B pre-to-post exercise (phase B). No significant effects in other planned comparisons were found. Statistically significant increases in daily moderate-to-vigorous PA were also seen during phase B compared to phase A with three of six individuals making a significant behaviour change., Conclusions: The addition of supervised aerobic exercise to typical rehabilitation strategies in chronic survivors of severe TBI can improve executive set shifting abilities and increase voluntary daily PA levels., Trial Registration: Retrospective trial registration on July 11 2024 with trial number: ISRCTN17487462., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Adults with intellectual disability (ID) have lower physical fitness levels than their peers without disabilities, representing a risk to their health since physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness are directly related to better health and quality of life. Therefore, it is essential to determine the effects that exercise can have on them, as adults with ID present high comorbidities and lower life expectancy, altogether with lower rates of physical activity. The current overview of systematic reviews aims to provide an outline of the exercise benefits in health-related and skill-related fitness in adults with ID., Methods and Analysis: Research will be conducted in PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, PEDro, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL. The search terms will be categorised through population (eg, adult, ID); intervention (eg, exercise, physical activity) and outcomes (eg, cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, balance, power, speed, agility, coordination, mobility and reaction time). Each database will be searched from their earliest available record up to 30 September 2021.Inclusion criteria will be: systematic reviews including at least one RCT that compare exercise interventions with a control group or another type of intervention; measure of fitness using objectives methods; inclusion of adults with ID (≥18 years old), and published in any language, with at least their abstract in English, Spanish, French and/or Portuguese., Ethics and Dissemination: To our knowledge, our overview will be the first of its kind to address the topic in people with ID. The results could be used to determine which fitness components can be improved by exercise and to provide a valuable tool to develop comprehensive exercise programmes specific to people with ID. Ethical approval is not required. The knowledge generated will be disseminated electronically and in print and presented at conferences., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42021237580., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The analysis of the heart rate variability (HRV) consists of changes in the time intervals between consecutive R waves. It provides information on the autonomic nervous system regulation and it is a predictor of adverse cardiovascular events. Several studies analyzed this parameter in youth and adults with Intellectual Disability (ID). Nevertheless, there is a lack of information regarding the HRV before, during, and after exercise in older adults with ID. Therefore, we aimed to describe and compare the cardiac autonomic modulation before, during, and after the six-minute walk test (6MWT) in older adults with and without ID. Twenty-four volunteers with ID and 24 without ID (non-ID) participated in this study. HRV was assessed by R-R intervals at rest, during and after the 6MWT. At rest and recovery periods, the participants remained sited. The symbolic analysis was used to evaluate non-linear HRV components. The recovery HR kinetics was assessed by the mean response time, which is equivalent to time constant (τ)+time delay (TD). Between groups differences in HRV variables were not significant. During the recovery period, HR kinetics time variables showed significant better results in non-ID participants (TD: 6±5s vs. 15±11s; τ: 19±10s vs. 35±17s; and MRT: 25±9s vs. 50±11s, all p <0.050). In conclusion, our results suggest that the HRV in older adults with and without ID is similar during rest, exercise, and recovery. Recovery HR kinetics after the 6MWT was slower in older adults with ID. The reason for these results may be a reduced post-exercise vagal rebound in older adults with ID., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Font-Farré, Farche, de Medeiros Takahashi, Guerra-Balic, Figueroa and Oviedo.)

Background: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have low levels of physical activity (PA) together with accelerated aging profiles. Adherence to PA interventions for persons with ID is low based on barriers such as motivation. The IDEA study aims to determine the effect of two types of exercise programs, continuous aerobic (CAEP) vs sprint interval training (SIT), designed for seniors with ID on health-related physical fitness, cardiovascular parameters, quality of life (QoL), and emotional and cognitive function., Methods: In this trial, ninety seniors with ID between the ages of 40 and 75 yrs. from occupational health centers from the Autonomous Region of Catalonia (Spain) will be recruited. Participants will be randomly allocated to the CAEP, SIT, and control group. Both intervention groups will train 3 days/week, 1.5 h/day over 6 months. Outcome variables will be assessed at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. The outcome variables include weight, height, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, balance, flexibility, cardiovascular parameters (blood pressure, pulse-wave velocity, pulse-wave analysis), QoL and cognitive function. The intervention effect will be determined with mixed models with repeated measures to assess changes in the outcome variables over time (baseline to month 12) and between study arms. Relationship between variables will be analyzed with appropriate regression analyses., Discussion: Various studies reported on CAEP and SIT as exercise interventions for persons with ID with beneficial outcomes on body composition, fitness and blood pressure. To our knowledge, this is the first trial designed to analyse the positive changes on fitness, PA levels, cardiovascular, QoL and cognitive function promoted by CAEP training and SIT in seniors with ID. The findings of this study will assist in the development of more effective exercise interventions to ensure better compliance and adherence to exercise in seniors with ID., Trial Registration: The trial is registered at the ISRCTN registry. Registration number: ISRCTN43594228 . Registered 11 February 2019 - Retrospectively registered.