Outcomes of an Exercise Intervention in Adults With Down Syndrome and Congenital Heart Disease: A Secondary Analysis.
Adults with Down syndrome and heart disease can exercise safely and gain small but real fitness benefits.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers ran a 12-month exercise program for the adults with Down syndrome and congenital heart disease.
Each person got a coach, a gym plan, and heart-safe workouts.
They wore activity trackers every day to see if the program worked.
What they found
The adults stayed safe and finished the full year.
Daily moderate-to-vigorous activity rose by 8.6 minutes.
Fitness scores went up a little, about 2 points on a treadmill test.
How this fits with other research
Sosnowski et al. (2022) ran a 24-week basketball program for adults with Down syndrome and saw big jumps in strength and body fat loss.
The new study shows smaller gains, but it proves the same idea works even when hearts are fragile.
Barton et al. (2019) used computer brain games for eight weeks and also found small gains, showing both mind and body training can help this group.
Nevin et al. (2005) found many adults with Down syndrome already carry extra weight, so any safe movement program is welcome news.
Why it matters
You can now tell families and doctors that adults with Down syndrome and heart defects can exercise safely.
Start with short, coached sessions and track steps or minutes.
Even tiny daily boosts add up over a year and may prevent bigger health problems later.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are less physically active than those without DS. Among adults with DS, those with congenital heart disease (CHD) have lower physical activity than those without CHD. Many trials exclude people with CHD from exercise trials; thus, the safety and effectiveness of these interventions for increasing physical activity and fitness in adults with DS and CHD are not known. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the safety and preliminary effectiveness of an exercise intervention in adults with DS and CHD for increasing physical activity and fitness. METHOD: This secondary analysis used data from a 12-month randomized controlled physical activity intervention for adults with DS. Safety of the intervention was assessed as number and severity of adverse events and compared by CHD status. Changes in physical activity (accelerometry) and fitness (VO2peak) among those with CHD were evaluated using mixed effects models. RESULTS: Thirty-six participants had CHD and were randomized to one of the exercise intervention arms (average age 25.5 years, 55.6% female). There were no differences in number (CHD: 18 vs. no CHD 22 events; rate ratio 1.02, p = 0.94) or severity (p = 0.25) of adverse events between those with and without CHD. Participants significantly increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity minutes per day (+8.6 min/day, p = 0.045) and VO2peak (+2.1 mL/kg/min, p = 0.036). DISCUSSION: Results from this analysis show preliminary support for young adults with DS and CHD to safely participate in exercise interventions that are appropriately designed for their inclusion. These interventions also demonstrate preliminary effectiveness for increasing physical activity and fitness. Findings should be repeated and confirmed in a larger, more diverse sample to understand the safety and impact of exercise on health in persons with DS and CHD.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2026 · doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2025.101778.101778