Sports participation in adolescents and young adults with myelomeningocele and its role in total physical activity behaviour and fitness.

OBJECTIVE To assess sports participation in young adults with myelomeningocele and its association with personal, disease-related and psychosocial factors, physical activity and fitness. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS Fifty-one persons (26 males) with myelomeningocele , mean age 21.1 (standard deviation 4.5) years. METHODS We assessed self-reported sports participation, ambulatory status, presence of hydrocephalus, functional independence, social support, perceived competence, exercise enjoyment, objective and self-reported physical activity, peak oxygen uptake, muscle strength and body fat. Associations were studied using regression analyses. RESULTS Thirty-five subjects (69%) participated in sports. Sports participation was not associated with disease-related characteristics, but was associated with social support from family, perceived athletic competence and physical appearance (p < or = 0.05), and tended to be associated with global self-worth (p = 0.10). Sports participants had higher self-reported physical activity levels than non-participants (p < or = 0.05); objective results did not support this. Furthermore, sports participants tended to be less likely to have subnormal muscle strength (odds ratio = 0.26; p = 0.08) and their peak oxygen uptake was 0.19 l/min higher, but not statistically significantly (p = 0.13). CONCLUSION Sports participation seems to be due to personal preferences rather than physical ability; it could benefit from improving social support and perceived competence, and is associated with higher self-reported physical activity.