Limiting screen time in infants may decrease risk of autism spectrum disorder, study finds
Quote:
Male toddlers who watched more television at age one were more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 3, compared to those without any screen time, according to a recent multi-site Japanese study published in JAMA Pediatrics.
"[A]mid the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid change in lifestyles, with electronic devices being used as the main channels of communication and social interactions," the authors wrote.
After the team screened approximately 100,00 pregnant women from a large Japanese birth cohort called the Japan Environment and Children’s Study between January 2011 to March 2014 across 15 regional centers, they found 84,030 mother-child pairs appropriate to analyze in December 2020, after excluding participants for missing data, stillbirths, miscarriages and children born with congenital conditions or cerebral palsy, per the study.
At age 3, 0.4% of the children, 76% who were boys, received an autism spectrum diagnosis, noting the proportion of autistic children increased with more screen time, finding boys were three times as likely of being diagnosed with ASD than girls, according to the study.
Although both boys and girls had similar screen time, the study only found an association between screen time and ASD among boys, but not with girls.
More and more parents are using ICT [information and communication technology] devices such as smartphone to raise their children," said lead author Megumi Kushima, research associate, center for birth cohort studies, University of Yamanashi in Japan, and co-author Zentaro Yamagata, who is a professor and director of the center.
They told Fox News, "Of course, there are advantages, but some parents show their children videos for a long time because they are quiet. This can lead to problems due to the lack of interaction between parents and children. This study provides scientific evidence for sounding the alarm."
But statistics expert Kristin Sainani, associate teaching professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford University in California, told Fox News: "Households where 1-year-olds are watching two or more hours of TV a day likely differ in important ways from households where babies watch less TV."
"The paper did not adequately characterize or account for these differences, and thus does not provide strong evidence of a causal link between infant screen time and autism.
The study also noted additional limitations were not knowing the cumulative screen time because of a possible reporting bias, and also their study may be biased towards severe autistic disorder because mild cases are often not diagnosed by age 3.
Association Between Screen Time Exposure in Children at 1 Year of Age and Autism Spectrum Disorder at 3 Years of Age - JAMA PediatricsI don't know if I buy this because extensive screen time should not affect only one gender. That said less screen time is a good thing. Easier said than done when you have a screaming baby and you can not figure out what is bothering the kid.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
04 Feb 2022, 12:49 pm
(I know it's not easy, but if it's easier in some ways, that's a win!)
