Tracking observation of fine motor development in children aged 6-8 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To examine the developmental trajectory of fine motor ability in schoolage children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for two years, so as to provide scientific evidence to promote motor development in ADHD children.@*Methods@#From April to June 2019, 31 children aged 6-8 years old were selected from a public elementary school. They were diagnosed with ADHD by two psychiatric professionals according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) criteria. Additionally, 31 typical developmental children, matched for age, sex and IQ with the ADHD group, were recruited as the control group. Fine motor ability was assessed with tasks of hand manual dexterity in Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MACB-2), and a followup assessment was conducted from April to June 2021. The development changes of fine motor ability between two groups of children were compared by using t test and repeated measures analysis of variance.@*Results@#Between baseline and followup periods after two years, the total score of hand fine motor in the ADHD group did not show significant improvement (7.4±3.0, 8.0±3.4; t=-1.05, P>0.05), while there was a small effect size improvement in typically developing control group (9.5±2.1, 10.5±2.4; t=-2.12, effect size=0.38, P<0.05). Followup after two years, coin/peg throwing scores with dominant hand improved between ADHD group and control group (7.0±3.3, 9.5±3.2; 8.4±2.8, 11.6±1.6) (t=-3.74, -6.33, P<0.01; effect size=0.67, 1.14), with a smaller improvement in the ADHD group. The score for threading beads/threads decreased in between ADHD group and control group (7.9±2.4, 5.8±3.1; 9.2±1.1, 8.2±1.9) (t=3.89, 2.78, P<0.01; effect size=0.70, 0.50), with a greater decrease in the ADHD group.@*Conclusions@#The development speed of fine motor ability in children with ADHD aged 6-8 is slow and continues to lag behind normal developmental children. Fine motor development in children with ADHD should be closely monitored, and targeted interventions should be implemented when necessary.

Meta-analysis of the effects of physical activity on executive function in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

BACKGROUND: Executive function is a core deficit in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study systematically reviewed the evidence for the effects of physical activity (PA) interventions on executive function in children and adolescents with ADHD and explored the moderating effects of key variables of PA on executive function. METHODS: Relevant literature in four electronic databases, Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase, were systematically searched. Revman 5.4 was used for data analysis, and combined effect sizes, heterogeneity tests, subgroup analyses, and sensitivity analyses were calculated. Egger's test in Stata 15.0 was used for publication bias testing. RESULTS: A total of 24 articles with 914 participants were included. Meta-analysis showed that PA interventions improved inhibitory control (SMD = -0.50, 95%CI [-0.71, -0.29], P < 0.00001), working memory (SMD = -0.50, 95%CI [-0.83, -0.16], P = 0.004) and cognitive flexibility in children and adolescents with ADHD (SMD = -0.45, 95%CI [-0.81, -0.09], P = 0.01). Subgroup analysis revealed a moderating effect of intervention intensity, motor skill type, sessions of PA, and weekly exercise volume on executive function. CONCLUSION: PA interventions had positive effects on improvements in core executive functions in children and adolescents with ADHD and were influenced by intervention intensity, type of motor skill, sessions of PA, and amount of exercise. This has practical implications for the formulation of PA interventions programs.

The relationship between fine motor skills and executive function in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the relationship between fine motor skills and executive function in school aged boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aged 6-10 years, so as to provide a reference for promoting executive function.@*Methods@#From November 2022 to May 2021,65 boys with ADHD were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Beijing and a public elementary school in Beijing, and 65 boys with typical development according to age and sex were recruited as controls. Children s fine motor skills were assessed using the movement assessment battery for children, second version (MABC-2), and children s inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility were assessed using the Stroop color word test (SCWT), Rey osterrich complex figure test (ROCFT) and trail making test (TMT), respectively. Independent samples t-tests were used to analyze the differences between the two groups, and Pearson correlation analysis and stratified regression analysis were used to explore the relationship between fine motor skills and executive functioning in boys with ADHD.@*Results@#In the fine motor skills test, boys with ADHD scored significantly lower (8.68±3.62) than control boys (11.22±2.27)( t =4.80, P <0.05); in the executive function test, the results of SCWT, ROCFT, and TMT tests were significantly worse in boys with ADHD than in normal boys ( t =-4.53-4.42, P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that the fine motor skill scores of boys with ADHD were negatively correlated with the number of word sense errors ( r =-0.35) and color errors ( r =-0.42), and positively correlated with memory scores for delayed structure ( r =0.30) and detail ( r =0.25), which were negatively correlated with TMT-A ( r =-0.34),TMT-B reaction time ( r =-0.26), number of errors ( r =-0.43) ( P <0.05). Stratified regression analysis showed that fine motor skill scores of boys with ADHD were predictive of test results for inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility, with explanatory rates of 15%, 7%, and 19%, respectively.@*Conclusion@#Fine motor skills in boys with ADHD are correlated with executive functions, and fine motor skills could predict inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility to some extent. The development of fine motor skills in boy with ADHD could promote their executive functions.