Abstract
Background Children with cerebral palsy (CP) demonstrate reduced physical activity levels compared with children with typical development. Sedentary behavior, including the duration and frequency of sedentary bouts, has not yet been objectively examined in this population but may have clinical implications for the development of secondary health complications.
Objective The aim of this study was to identify time spent sedentary and frequency of breaks interrupting sedentary time in youth with CP compared with youth without CP. It was hypothesized that individuals with CP would spend more hours sedentary than their peers and take fewer breaks to interrupt sedentary time.
Design This was a cross-sectional, prospective study.
Methods A convenience sample of 17 ambulatory children with CP (15 boys and 2 girls) (mean age=13.0 years, SD=2.2) and 17 age-, sex-, and season-matched youth who were developing typically (TD group) (mean age=12.9 years, SD=2.5) wore an accelerometer over a 7-day period. Sedentary time (in minutes) and number of breaks from sedentary time, corrected for monitoring and sedentary time, respectively, were examined. Differences between groups were determined with an independent-samples t test.
Results Children with CP engaged in significantly more sedentary time (X̅=47.5 min/h, SD=4.9) compared with the TD group (X̅=43.6 min/h, SD=4.2), with significantly fewer breaks from sedentary time (CP group: X̅=179, SD=70; TD group: X̅=232 breaks/h sedentary, SD=61).
Limitations The sample included only ambulatory youth with CP, classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I to III.
Conclusions Sedentary time was higher in the CP group and was characterized by less frequent breaks compared with the TD group. Future research should examine the extent to which sedentary time is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic risk in youth with CP.
Footnotes
Ms Obeid, Dr Gorter, and Dr Timmons provided concept/idea/research design. Ms Obeid, Dr Balemans, Dr Gorter, and Dr Timmons provided writing. Ms Obeid, Mr Noorduyn, and Dr Gorter provided data collection. Ms Obeid and Mr Noorduyn provided data analysis. Dr Gorter and Dr Timmons provided project management and facilities/equipment. Mr Noorduyn and Dr Gorter provided study participants. Dr Gorter provided institutional liaisons. Dr Balemans and Mr Noorduyn provided consultation (including review of manuscript before submission).
The authors are grateful to each of the participants and their parents for volunteering their time to assist in this study.
This study was approved by the Hamilton Health Sciences/Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Board, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
The results of this study were presented at the XXVIIth International Symposium of the European Group of Pediatric Work Physiology; September 19–23, 2011; Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
This study was funded by McMaster Children's Hospital Foundation and Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy. Dr Balemans was supported by a travel grant from the EMGO Institute for Health Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Dr Gorter holds the Scotiabank Chair in Child Health Research (2013–2017).
- Received July 19, 2013.
- Accepted March 14, 2014.
- © 2014 American Physical Therapy Association
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