More Screen Time at Age 1 Year Tied to Developmental Delays at Ages 2 and 4

THURSDAY, Aug. 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Greater screen time for children at 1 year of age is associated with developmental delays in communication and problem-solving at ages 2 and 4 years, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Ippei Takahashi, from Tohoku University in Japan, and colleagues examined the association between screen time exposure among children at age 1 year and five domains of developmental delay (communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal and social skills) at ages 2 and 4 years. The analysis included 7,097 mother-child pairs.

The researchers found that when compared with screen time of less than one hour/day at age 1 year, more screen time was associated with a higher risk for developmental delay at age 2 years in the following domains: communication (odds ratio [OR], 1.61 for one to less than two hours/day; 2.04 for two to less than four hours/day; 4.78 for four or more hours/day), fine motor (OR, 1.74 for four or more hours/day), problem-solving (OR, 1.40 for two to less than four hours/day; 2.67 for four or more hours/day), and personal and social skills (OR, 2.10 for four or more hours/day). At age 4 years, a higher risk for developmental delay was seen with increasing screen time for communication (OR, 1.64 for two to less than four hours/day; 2.68 for four or more hours/day) and problem-solving (OR, 1.91 for four or more hours/day).

"These findings suggest that domains of developmental delay should be considered separately in future discussions on screen time and child development," conclude the authors.

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