Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Health Science
First Advisor
Musheera Anis Abdellatif
Abstract
This study evaluated a 90-day lifestyle intervention for nine ambulatory adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) residing in three adult family homes (AFHs). The intervention integrated approximately 120 minutes per week of structured exercise, promotion of the Mediterranean-style eating pattern emphasizing whole foods and omega-3–rich seafood, and adjunctive mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Using a single-group pre–post design, outcomes included a primary endpoint (A1C) and secondary endpoints (systolic and diastolic blood pressure and depressive symptoms assessed by the Glasgow Depression Scale adapted for adults with IDD). Mixed-effects regression analysis indicated that group-level change in A1C was not statistically significant at α = .10 (p = .154). Conversely, systolic (p = .007) and diastolic (p = .020) blood pressure declined significantly from baseline to post-intervention. Depressive symptoms also improved: the mixed-effects model showed a main effect of time (p = .0039), and Tukey–Kramer–adjusted pairwise comparisons revealed significantly lower scores at days 30, 60, and 88 compared to baseline (adjusted p = .023, .012, and .008, respectively). These findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential benefit of a multi-component lifestyle intervention for adults with IDD living in residential settings and create an impetus for larger, controlled trials to further evaluate efficacy and generalizability.
Subject Categories
Medicine and Health Sciences
Keywords
depression developmental disability diabetes exercise hypertension lifestyle intervention
Number of Pages
175
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Velissaris, Matthew Lee, "Evaluating A Novel Lifestyle Intervention Trial: Mitigating Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension and Depression in Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Living in Adult Family Homes" (2025). Dissertations and Theses. 386.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/386