1137 - Optimizing Health Outcomes through Exercise in Pediatric Patients with Intellectual Disability: Findings from the Special Olympics Healthy Athlete Database

Objectives: Intellectual disability (ID) is a developmental disorder characterized by significant intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior limitations. Individuals with ID often face various health challenges, including reduced physical fitness and increased risk of chronic diseases. Understanding the relationship between exercise frequency and health metrics can provide valuable insights into optimizing health outcomes in pediatric patients with ID.

This study uses data published by the Special Olympics' FunFitness program to explore the relationship between exercise and health outcomes to inform the development of tailored exercise regimens in the pediatric ID population.



Design: The Special Olympics’ American Healthy Athlete database was queried for athletes from 2007-2018. Athletes ages 8-18 underwent a series of standardized assessments to evaluate their hand grip strength, aerobic fitness, and flexibility. Additionally, daily exercise habits and stretching routines were assessed through self-reported questionnaires. Descriptive analysis, T-Tests, and chi-square analysis were calculated for each health metric.



Results: 10,909 athletes with ID were included in the analysis. The analysis revealed high baseline flexibility problems (67.1%) in athletes with ID. However, athletes who stretched more than once daily exhibited significantly greater range of motion in left (p=0.001) and right (p=0.007) functional reach than athletes who didn't stretch routinely. Increased exercise frequency was associated with significantly higher strength metrics. Grip strength showed significant improvements in athletes reporting higher exercise frequency 3-6 days compared to daily for max (p< 0.001), left (p< 0.001), and right-hand grip (0.009). Furthermore, athletes who exercised for 3-6 days scored significantly higher on the seated push-up test than those who exercised no days (p=0.02).

Conclusions: This study indicates that the greatest strength and flexibility improvements occur from 0 to 3-5 days of exercise, suggesting that 3-5 days may be optimal for improving health metrics. These results can inform the development of exercise interventions to optimize health outcomes in pediatric patients with ID.