Greater Physical Activity is Associated with Lower Rates of Anxiety and Depression Among Autistic and ADHD Youth: National Survey of Children's Health 2016-2020.
More daily movement is linked to lower anxiety and depression in autistic and ADHD youth, yet even active autistic kids stay high-risk.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Greenlee et al. (2024) looked at parent answers from the big National Survey of Children’s Health.
They compared kids with autism, ADHD, and typical development.
Parents told how much the child moved each day and how often the child showed signs of anxiety or depression.
What they found
More daily movement went hand in hand with fewer anxiety and depression signs in all three groups.
Even the most active autistic kids still had high symptom rates.
Exercise helped, but it did not erase the gap.
How this fits with other research
Pan et al. (2006) first showed that autistic youth move less as they age.
L et al. now link that drop to worse mental-health scores, giving a reason to care about the slide.
Barry et al. (2025) asked young autistic adults why they move.
They named stress relief and mood control, the same benefits L et al. saw in numbers.
Schiltz et al. (2017) used the same survey style and found anxiety stays stable over time.
That stability lets us trust the new finding that movement, not chance, tracks with lower scores.
Why it matters
You can add movement goals to behavior plans right away.
Try a 10-minute walk before table work, schedule playground time, or let the client choose a solo activity like trampoline or dance.
Track mood with simple 1-to-5 ratings.
More steps may mean fewer meltdowns, even if meds and therapy stay the same.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Data from the National Survey of Children's Health 2016-2020 was used to examine the association between physical activity and anxiety and depression among autistic youth, non-autistic youth with ADHD, and non-autistic non-ADHD youth. There was a significant negative association between physical activity and anxiety among all groups. Reduction in anxiety or depression associated with greater physical activity was at least as large or larger among autistic or nonautistic youth with ADHD than among non-autistic non-ADHD youth. Unfortunately, even autistic youth who were physically active 4 to 7 days a week showed very high rates of anxiety (54.5%) and depression (23.1%). Very high levels of dual diagnosis of anxiety and depression in autistic youth and youth with ADHD also emerged. Findings highlight a need to determine the cause-and-effect relationships among physical activity, anxiety, and depression across groups and to prioritize mental health screenings and support for autistic youth and youth with ADHD.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2024 · doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000017980