Depression Related To Activity In Typically Developing Children But Not In Children With Autism

Abstract

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA) has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in various populations. This study was conducted to compare PA levels between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children (TD) and to determine whether a relationship exists between PA and depression or anxiety in children with ASD. METHODS: 17 TD and 15 children with ASD (μ: 9.5 ± 1.8 yrs) wore triaxial accelerometers to assess PA across 6 consecutive days except during sleep and water activities. Cut points were assessed for sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous PA (Evenson, 2008). Moderate and vigorous counts were then combined (MVPA). Each child’s parents completed ratings on their child’s ASD symptom expression and the degree of depression and anxiety symptoms their child exhibited via the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 2nd Ed. (BASC-2). Independent t-tests were used for group differences and Pearson’s correlations were used to identify relationships between variables. RESULTS: TD children recorded a significantly greater average daily wear time than ASD children (791.4 vs. 723.9 min. respectively; p<0.001). There were however, no significant differences between TD and ASD participants across percentage of time spent nor average daily minutes spent in sedentary (489.6 vs. 446.8; p=0.07), light (250.6 vs. 234.1; p=0.32), moderate (35.0 vs. 28.1; p=0.08), or vigorous (16.2 vs. 14.8; p=0.67) PA nor in average total activity counts (126.6 vs. 121.97; p=0.71). Neither group reached minimal recommendations for MVPA in children. ASD participants had significantly higher BASC-2 scores for depression (57.6 ± 10.9 vs. 45.1 ± 6.9; p<0.001) but not anxiety than TD participants. Relationships between PA and BASC-2 scores were not significant in the ASD group. In the TD group, there were significant negative relationships between depression scores and average moderate PA (r=-0.656, p=0.006), vigorous PA (r=-0.656, p=0.006), MVPA (r=-0.735, p<0.001), and average total counts (r=-0.637, p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: While PA did not differ significantly between groups, a significant negative relationship between PA and depression in TD but not ASD suggests that a greater dose of intentional PA may be required to demonstrate an effect on symptoms of depression in children with ASD.