NCT03058640

Effects of Karate in Adolescents With Down Syndrome

The Effects of Participation in Karate on Health Outcomes in Adolescents With Down Syndrome

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 16 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Michigan · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 12 Years – 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This randomized control study will investigate the health outcomes of adolescents with Down Syndrome who participate in a karate class as measured by ALPHA fitness testing and various PROMIS parent proxy questionnaires to assess participants mobility, physical activity, and overall affect.

Detailed description

Adolescents with Down syndrome suffer from a set of health problems including heart disease, sleep disturbances, and obesity. Their decreased cardiovascular fitness and exercise capacity limits their ability to perform activities of daily living. Exercise interventions in this population of children have been shown to improve muscle strength, balance, and cardiovascular fitness. Prior research has helped better define physical activity barriers in this population which include: requiring parental supervision, lack of accessible programs, seasonal activities and reduced physical skills of the child. Karate is an indoor activity that can be performed at different skill levels without parental involvement. The investigators hypothesize that adolescents with Down syndrome who participate in karate will show improved health outcomes compared to those who did not participate. Furthermore, the investigators hypothesize that the majority of participants will continue the activity outside of the research window. This randomized controlled trial will enroll 30 adolescents with Down syndrome. Participants will be randomly assigned to a 3 month karate program or the control group with no intervention. Measurements are taken at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months using validated ALPHA fitness testing and in addition parents will complete PROMIS questionnaires to assess overall participant's activity level, mobility, and generalized affect. An independent statistician will analyze the groups. This research will help physicians provide adolescents with Down syndrome appropriate recommendations for an individualized physical activity regimen that does not have similar limitations to other exercise programs.

Conditions

• Down Syndrome

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	PKSA karate class	Participants will attend at least 20/24 PKSA karate classes over a 12 week period, completing standard karate training lessons. Participants will also be encouraged to practice on their own at home. • Participants must attend at LEAST 20/24 classes

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-07-15
• Primary completion: 2019-03-31
• Completion: 2019-03-31
• First posted: 2017-02-23
• Last updated: 2019-05-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States