The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Executive Function Among People with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 1030 - 1050
• Main Authors: Sung, Ming-Chih, Ku, Byungmo, Leung, Willie, MacDonald, Megan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-03-2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Care and treatment; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Diagnosis; Executive Function; Executive function (Psychology); Exercise; Health aspects; Humans; Intervention; Management; Meta Analysis; Moderators; Nervous system diseases; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders - therapy; Neurological Impairments; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Pediatrics; Physical Activities; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Program Effectiveness; Psychology; Public Health; Time use; Young Adult; Young Adults; United States; Singapore; Disability; ADHD; ASD; Cognition; Exercise intervention
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05009-5

The current meta-analysis comprehensively examined the effects of physical activity interventions on executive function among people with neurodevelopmental disorders. The meta-analysis included 34 studies with 1058 participants aged 5–33 years. Results indicated an overall significant medium effect of physical activity interventions on improving executive function in people with neurodevelopmental disorders under the random-effect model (Hedges’
g
 = 0.56,
p
 < .001). Significant moderators of the effects of physical activity intervention on executive function included age, intervention length and session time, executive function subdomains, and intervention dose (total minutes in the intervention). This meta-analysis provides support for the effectiveness of physical activity interventions on executive function among people with neurodevelopmental disorders. Future studies and limitations are discussed.