Associations of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with cognitive function, self-control, and resilience in young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Sibbick, Elise; Boat, Ruth; Sarkar, Mustafa; Johnston, Julie P.; Groom, Maddie; Williams, Ryan A.; Dring, Karah J.; Sun, Feng-Hua; Cooper, Simon B.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate if physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness influence cognition, self-control, and resilience in young people with ADHD. Fifty-four children with ADHD (12.8 ± 1.4 y) completed questionnaires to assess self-control and resilience, wore an accelerometer for 7 d to assess free-living physical activity, and completed a battery of cognitive function tasks and a multi-stage fitness test (cardiorespiratory fitness). Positive associations were found between cardiorespiratory fitness and attention, measured via performance on the simple Stroop task (r(52) = −0.386, p = 0.004) and the congruent Flanker task (r(52) = −0.302, p = 0.026), and inhibitory control, measured via performance on the incongruent level of the Flanker task (r(52) = −0.348, p = 0.010). Furthermore, a higher proportion of active time spent in highintensity activities (r(37) = 0.370, p = 0.021) were associated with higher self control. No associations were found between physical activity or cardiorespiratory fitness and resilience (all p > 0.05). These findings demonstrate the importance of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness for cognition and self-control in young people with ADHD.

Citation

Sibbick, E., Boat, R., Sarkar, M., Johnston, J. P., Groom, M., Williams, R. A., …Cooper, S. B. (2024). Associations of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with cognitive function, self-control, and resilience in young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Advanced Exercise and Health Science, 1(1), 51-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aehs.2024.01.003

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 24, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Feb 2, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-03
• Deposit Date: Mar 15, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2024
• Journal: Advanced Exercise and Health Science
• Electronic ISSN: 2950-273X
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 51-58
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aehs.2024.01.003
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/32466673
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950273X24000043