Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have limited work capacity. In individuals with Down syndrome, this has been previously linked to autonomic dysfunction. Previous research suggests autonomic dysfunction and altered hemodynamics may also be present in individuals with ID without Down syndrome but this has not been tested.PURPOSETo compare the autonomic and hemodynamic response to isometric handgrip (HG) exercise in individuals with ID to a control group without ID.METHODSNine individuals with ID and 19 individuals without ID had heart rate and blood pressure continuously recorded via an ECG‐lead and finger‐photoplethysmography in the seated position. Isometric HG was performed at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction for 2 min. Recordings were acquired for the last 2 min of quiet rest, HG, and the first 2 min of recovery.RESULTSIndividuals with ID showed smaller increases compared to individuals without ID for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure during HG (p<0.001; Table).CONCLUSIONDespite no HRV differences, these preliminary results suggest a blunted blood pressure response to isometric HG in individuals with ID, which may help explain low fitness levels observed in this population.Support or Funding InformationThe research leading to these results has received funding from the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under REA grant agreement no 625455.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.