Levels of physical activity in children born preterm or at low birthweight

Abstract

Introduction: Children born preterm or with foetal growth restriction (FGR) have decrements in lung function and are at increased risk for chronic respiratory disease later in life. Physical activity (PA) may help to ameliorate this risk but few children reach the recommended levels. We investigated whether preterm-born or FGR children were as physically active as their peers.

Methods: We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) at age 8; Total PA (TPA, average count per minute [cpm] over the period of recording) and Moderate to Vigorous PA (MVPA, average minutes per day spent at >3600 cpm) at age 12. Preterm-born children were split into groups according to gender and gestational age: 25-32, 33-34, 35-36 and 37-43 weeks (term control); Term-born children were split into groups according to gender and birthweight status: >10th centile (FGR) and 20-80th centile (control). Differences in PA were analysed using one-way ANOVA and t-tests respectively.

Results: There was no statistically significant correlation between FEV₁ and measures of PA in preterm or FGR children. There were no statistically significant differences in PA between children grouped by gestation (TPA: p=0.12 males, p=0.06 females; MVPA: p=0.348 males, p=0.312 female) or by birthweight status (TPA: p=0.62 males, p=0.64 females; MVPA: p=0.86 males, p=0.88 females).

Conclusion: Lung function is not correlated with measures of PA in children born preterm, or those born at term with FGR and they participate in the same levels of PA as their peers. Given their increased risk for chronic lung disease, encouraging participation may be of heightened importance.