Arterial stiffness in children with and without probable developmental coordination disorder.
Boys with coordination disorder carry extra body fat that stiffens their arteries, pointing to early heart-disease risk you can act on.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Libero et al. (2016) compared artery health in boys with and without probable developmental coordination disorder.
They used ultrasound and pulse-wave tools to measure how stiff the arteries were.
Body-fat levels were also checked to see if fat explained any artery differences.
What they found
Boys with probable DCD had stiffer arteries than their typically developing peers.
The extra stiffness was linked to higher body fat, not the movement problems themselves.
Stiffer arteries at this young age signal early cardiovascular risk.
How this fits with other research
Sasson et al. (2022) saw the same kind of heart-risk pattern in firefighters with PTSD, showing stress-linked conditions can hurt blood vessels across very different groups.
van der Lubbe et al. (2025) found hair-cortisol evidence that parent and child stress travel together in autism families; E et al. extend this idea by showing body fat can act as another stress pathway in DCD.
Griffith et al. (2012) review reminds us that repetitive behaviors and self-injury often share brain circuits across developmental disorders; while their paper looks at behavior, E et al. add a body-level warning that hidden health risks like artery stiffness need equal screening attention.
Why it matters
If you serve late-elementary kids with DCD, consider adding quick artery-health questions and body-fat screening to your intake. Flagging higher fat early gives you a concrete, non-stigmatizing target for family goals: more movement play and dietary tweaks that can soften arteries before heart disease ever shows.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a simple body-fat measure (like waist-to-height ratio) to your assessment and program gross-motor games that reduce fat.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with cardiovascular disease risk factors demonstrate adverse arterial alterations that are predictive of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in adults. Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are at cardiovascular risk as they are more likely to be obese and inactive. AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess arterial structure and function in children with and without probable DCD (p-DCD). METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 33 children with p-DCD (22 male) and 53 without (30 male). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used to classify those with p-DCD. Adiposity was assessed using the BOD POD. Compliance, distensibility, and intima-media thickness were measured at the common carotid artery (CCA). ECG R-wave-to-toe pulse wave velocity (PWV) was also measured. RESULTS: Compared to controls, males with p-DCD had lower CCA distensibility (p=0.034) and higher PWV (p=0.001). No differences were evident in females. Body fat percent was a significant predictor of CCA distensibility and removed the effect of p-DCD on PWV in males. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates augmented arterial stiffness in males with p-DCD, likely attributed to body fat. These findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions in children with p-DCD, specifically males, in order to prevent future cardiovascular risk.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.07.011