Motor performance in early life and participation in leisure-time physical activity up to age 68 years

Genetic confounding in the association of early motor development with childhood and adolescent exercise behavior

INTRODUCTION

Early motor development has been found to be a predictor of exercise behavior in children and adolescents, but whether this reflects a causal effect or confounding by genetic or shared environmental factors remains to be established.

METHODS

For 20,911 complete twin pairs from the Netherlands Twin Register a motor development score was obtained from maternal reports on the timing of five motor milestones. During a 12-year follow-up, subsamples of the mothers reported on the twins' ability to perform seven gross motor skills ability (N = 17,189 pairs), and weekly minutes of total metabolic equivalents of task (MET) spent on sports and exercise activities at age 7 (N = 3632 pairs), age 10 (N = 3735 pairs), age 12 (N = 7043 pairs), and age 14 (N = 3990 pairs). Multivariate phenotypic and genetic regression analyses were used to establish the predictive strength of the two motor development traits for future exercise behavior, the contribution of genetic and shared environmental factors to the variance in all traits, and the contribution of familial confounding to the phenotypic prediction.

RESULTS

Significant heritability (h2) and shared environmental (c2) effects were found for early motor development in boys and girls (h2 = 43-65%; c2 = 16-48%). For exercise behavior, genetic influences increased with age (boys: h2age7 = 22% to h2age14 = 51%; girls: h2age7 = 3% to h2age14 = 18%) paired to a parallel decrease in the influence of the shared environment (boys: c2age7 = 68% to c2age14 = 19%; girls: c2age7 = 80% to c2age14 = 48%). Early motor development explained 4.3% (p < 0.001) of the variance in future exercise behavior in boys but only 1.9% (p < 0.001) in girls. If the effect in boys was due to a causal effect of motor development on exercise behavior, all of the factors influencing motor development would, through the causal chain, also influence future exercise behavior. Instead, only the genetic parts of the regression of exercise behavior on motor development were significant. Shared and unique environmental parts of the regression were largely non-significant, which is at odds with the causal hypothesis.

CONCLUSION

No support was found for a direct causal effect in the association between rapid early motor development on future exercise behavior. In boys, early motor development appears to be an expression of the same genetic factors that underlie the heritability of childhood and early adolescent exercise behavior.

Motor competence in fundamental motor skills and sport skill learning: Testing the proficiency barrier hypothesis

We investigated whether motor competence in fundamental motor skills influences sports motor skill learning. Motor competence in fundamental motor skills related to the overhead volleyball serve (i.e., throwing and volleying) was evaluated in 38 children (aged 9-10 yrs) and participants were divided into lower and higher motor competence groups. The groups practiced the volleyball serve under random or constant-random conditions during an acquisition phase and then assessed in pre-test, intermediate, and retention tests. A three-way repeated-measures ANOVA showed performance improvement from pre-test to retention test only for high motor competence groups in fundamental motor skills. Initial competence in fundamental motor skills influences sport skills learning and demonstrates a potential proficiency barrier to learning complex-sports motor skills.

Infant motor development and physical activity and sedentary time at midlife

This study investigated whether the timing of infant motor development is associated with self-reported and accelerometer-measured physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) in midlife. This population-based study consisted of 4098 people born in 1966 in Northern Finland (NFBC 1966). Data on nine infant motor developmental milestones included making sounds, holding up the head, grabbing objects, turning from back to tummy, sitting without support, standing with support, walking with support, standing without support, and walking without support. At the age of 46, PA at leisure time and sitting time was self-reported. PA and ST were also measured with a wrist-worn Polar Active accelerometer that was instructed to be worn on the non-dominant hand 24 h/d for 14 days. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the association between infant motor development and PA and ST in midlife. Later infant motor development was weakly associated with higher accelerometer-measured light PA, but not with moderate-to-vigorous PA. Later infant locomotor development was associated with lower accelerometer-measured ST (β -0.07, p = 0.012) and lower self-reported sitting time at work (β -0.06, p = 0.004) in women. In conclusion, later infant motor development was associated with higher light PA and lower sedentary time at middle age. PA is a multifactorial behavior influenced by various factors from early childhood to midlife. Further research is required before more general conclusions can be drawn.

Association of Childhood Psychomotor Coordination With Survival Up to 6 Decades Later

IMPORTANCE

Poorer performance on standard tests of motor coordination in children has emerging links with sedentary behavior, obesity, and functional capacity in later life. These observations are suggestive of an untested association of coordination with health outcomes, including mortality.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of performance on a series of psychomotor coordination tests in childhood with mortality up to 6 decades later.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

The British National Child Development Study (1958 Birth Cohort Study) is a prospective cohort study based on a nationally representative sample of births from England, Scotland, and Wales. A total of 17 415 individuals had their gross and fine motor psychomotor coordination assessed using 9 tests at ages 11 and 16 years. Data analysis for the present study was conducted from October 2016 to December 2019.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

All-cause mortality as ascertained from a vital status registry and survey records.

RESULTS

In this birth cohort study of 17 415 individuals who underwent a series of psychomotor coordination tests in childhood, follow up was conducted over several decades. Of the analytical sample of 12 678 individuals, 51% were male, and 72% came from a lower social group. Mortality surveillance between ages 12 and 58 years in an analytical sample of 17 062 men and women yielded 1072 deaths (766 661 person-years at risk). In survival analyses with adjustment for sex, higher scores on 7 of the 9 childhood coordination tests were associated with a lower risk of mortality in a stepwise manner. After controlling for early-life socioeconomic, health, cognitive, and developmental factors, lower mortality was statistically significantly associated with 3 tests: ball catching at age 11 years (0-8 vs 10 catches: hazard ratio [HR], 1.57; 95% CI, 1.19-2.07), match-picking at age 11 years (>50 vs 0-36 seconds: HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.09-1.63), and hopping at age 16 years (very unsteady vs very steady: HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.01-1.63).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The results of this cohort study suggest that childhood motor coordination is associated with lower mortality up to middle-age; these findings require replication.

Childhood motor performance is increased by participation in organized sport: the CHAMPS Study-DK

Evidence suggests that motor performance in children is declining globally. We tested whether participation in organized sport is associated with motor performance, and estimate the effect of 30 months participation in organized sport on motor performance. Study participants were 1067 primary school students, enrolled in the Danish Childhood Health, Activity, and Motor Performance School study. Participation in organized sport was reported via text messaging. Coordination-related motor performance composite, fitness-related motor performance composite, and total motor performance composite were calculated. Data were analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations. Participation in organized sport was positively associated with motor performance (all composites) in models that did and did not control for baseline motor performance. For models that did not control for baseline motor performance, this equated to 2–6% increases in motor performance per weekly sport session; for models that did control for baseline motor performance, this equated to 1–5% increases in motor performance per weekly sport session. Positive associations between participation in organized sport and motor performance identify participation in organized sport as a way to improve motor performance in children. These results might provide the basis to determine whether participation in organized sport could be beneficial for children with developmental movement disorders.

Motor performance in early life and participation in leisure-time physical activity up to age 68 years

BACKGROUND

This study examined associations between motor performance in early life and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) participation across adulthood, and whether these changed with age.

METHODS

Data were from 2526 participants from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development. Motor indicators were mother-reported ages at first standing and walking, teacher-rated games ability at age 13, and finger- and foot-tapping speed at age 15. LTPA was reported at ages 36, 43, 53, 60-64, and 68 years and classed at each age as none, moderate (1-4/mo), or regular (≥5/mo). Associations were examined using mixed-effects Poisson regression models with robust error variance.

RESULTS

Better ability at games and faster tapping speed were associated with more frequent participation in LTPA across adulthood, for example, fully adjusted relative risk of regular LTPA across adulthood (vs none) for above-average ability (vs below average or average) = 1.46 (95% CI 1.32, 1.61); and per 10-unit higher number of finger-taps/15 seconds = 1.04 (95% CI 1.02, 1.07). These associations did not vary by age (P ≥ .33 for interactions with age at LTPA). Ages at reaching motor milestones were not associated with LTPA (eg, fully adjusted relative risk of regular LTPA across adulthood for walking ≤10 and ≥18 months (vs 11-17 months) were 1.01 (95% CI 0.86, 1.20) and 0.89 (95% CI 0.75, 1.06) respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Better ability at games and faster tapping speed in adolescence were associated with greater participation in LTPA throughout adult life; from age 36 up to age 68. Childhood motor skill interventions may therefore have the potential to promote lifelong LTPA.