Study details
Eighty-three adult participants were available for final analysis – 67 from North America, 8 from Europe, 5 from Africa, 2 from Asia, and 1 from Australia. The mean age of participants was 27.1 years, 40 were female, and all had caregiver support during the study.
Those unable to visualize information on computer and mobile/tablet screens or to listen to instructions/auditory cues were excluded. All were provided with instructions and a mobile monitoring tool set to record steps completed, distances covered, speeds, and heart rate.
Each was assigned to one of four groups. Exercise intervention-only consisted of 8 weeks of cardiorespiratory exercise defined as either walking or jogging three times a week for 30 minutes. Cognitive training included eight levels (about 20 minutes) of cognitive and executive function exercises six times per week. The combined group completed both the cardiorespiratory and cognitive interventions, while the fourth group acted as controls with no intervention.
According to the authors, the study offers a real-life scenario that can be readily adopted within the Down syndrome community.
This study was commissioned by the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. The authors had no conflicts of interest to declare.