Association between parent-reported level of physical activity and mobility performance in children with Down syndrome: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Children with Down syndrome (DS) often face challenges maintaining adequate levels of physical activity, which might be associated with their mobility performance. Therefore, the objectives of this study were i) to describe parent-reported physical activity level and performance of mobility of children with DS and ii) to explore relationship between parent-reported physical activity level and performance of mobility in children with Down syndrome. METHODS: For this observational and cross-sectional study, 48 children with DS (mean age: 10.50 ± 3.30) were assessed using the IPAQ-short version (parent-reported physical activity level) and the PEDI-CAT mobility (performance in mobility). Data were analyzed using the Spearman correlation test with a significance level of p < 0.05 using SPSS-V24.0 software. RESULTS: A significant positive association was found between parent-reported physical activity level and mobility performance (ρ (rho) = .323; p = .025). CONCLUSION: Higher physical activity level was associated with better mobility performance in daily living activities. Therefore, this finding supports the importance of promoting both aspects of functioning in children with DS.