Association of Digital Media Use With Subsequent Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Adolescents

Abstract

<div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-1"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e335">Question</h5> <p id="d1815532e337">Is frequent use of modern digital media platforms, such as social media, associated with occurrence of ADHD symptoms during adolescence? </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-2"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e340">Findings</h5> <p id="d1815532e342">In this longitudinal cohort survey study of adolescents aged 15 and 16 years at baseline and without symptoms of ADHD, there was a significant association between higher frequency of modern digital media use and subsequent symptoms of ADHD over a 24-month follow-up (odds ratio, 1.11 per additional digital media activity). </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-3"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e345">Meaning</h5> <p id="d1815532e347">More frequent use of digital media may be associated with development of ADHD symptoms; further research is needed to assess whether this association is causal. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-4"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e351">Importance</h5> <p id="d1815532e353">Modern digital platforms are easily accessible and intensely stimulating; it is unknown whether frequent use of digital media may be associated with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-5"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e356">Objective</h5> <p id="d1815532e358">To determine whether the frequency of using digital media among 15- and 16-year-olds without significant ADHD symptoms is associated with subsequent occurrence of ADHD symptoms during a 24-month follow-up. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-6"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e361">Design, Setting, and Participants</h5> <p id="d1815532e363">Longitudinal cohort of students in 10 Los Angeles County, California, high schools recruited through convenience sampling. Baseline and 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month follow-up surveys were administered from September 2014 (10th grade) to December 2016 (12th grade). Of 4100 eligible students, 3051 10th-graders (74%) were surveyed at the baseline assessment. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-7"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e366">Exposures</h5> <p id="d1815532e368">Self-reported use of 14 different modern digital media activities at a high-frequency rate over the preceding week was defined as many times a day (yes/no) and was summed in a cumulative index (range, 0-14). </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-8"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e371">Main Outcomes and Measures</h5> <p id="d1815532e373">Self-rated frequency of 18 ADHD symptoms (never/rare, sometimes, often, very often) in the 6 months preceding the survey. The total numbers of 9 inattentive symptoms (range, 0-9) and 9 hyperactive-impulsive symptoms (range, 0-9) that students rated as experiencing often or very often were calculated. Students who had reported experiencing often or very often 6 or more symptoms in either category were classified as being ADHD symptom-positive. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-9"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e376">Results</h5> <p id="d1815532e378">Among the 2587 adolescents (63% eligible students; 54.4% girls; mean [SD] age 15.5 years [0.5 years]) who did not have significant symptoms of ADHD at baseline, the median follow-up was 22.6 months (interquartile range [IQR], 21.8-23.0, months). The mean (SD) number of baseline digital media activities used at a high-frequency rate was 3.62 (3.30); 1398 students (54.1%) indicated high frequency of checking social media (95% CI, 52.1%-56.0%), which was the most common media activity. High-frequency engagement in each additional digital media activity at baseline was associated with a significantly higher odds of having symptoms of ADHD across follow-ups (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.06-1.16). This association persisted after covariate adjustment (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.15). The 495 students who reported no high-frequency media use at baseline had a 4.6% mean rate of having ADHD symptoms across follow-ups vs 9.5% among the 114 who reported 7 high-frequency activities (difference; 4.9%; 95% CI, 2.5%-7.3%) and vs 10.5% among the 51 students who reported 14 high-frequency activities (difference, 5.9%; 95% CI, 2.6%-9.2%). </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="ab-joi180072-10"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d1815532e381">Conclusions and Relevance</h5> <p id="d1815532e383">Among adolescents followed up over 2 years, there was a statistically significant but modest association between higher frequency of digital media use and subsequent symptoms of ADHD. Further research is needed to determine whether this association is causal. </p> </div><p class="first" id="d1815532e386">This 24-month cohort study tracks high school students in Los Angeles County, California, who were not initially assessed as having ADHD symptoms to compare frequency of use of digital media platforms with experiencing ADHD symptoms. </p>