Banning Screen Time Not Necessary After Pediatric Concussion

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Early screen time does not appear to have as much impact as other factors in pediatric concussion recovery, according to a study published online Oct. 17 in Pediatrics.

Molly Cairncross, Ph.D., from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and colleagues conducted a planned secondary analysis of a prospective longitudinal cohort of 633 children and adolescents (ages 8 to 16 years) with acute concussion and 334 with orthopedic injury, recruited from five Canadian pediatric emergency departments. The Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Questionnaire was used to measure screen time.

The researchers found that screen time in the first seven to 10 days following an injury was a significant but nonlinear moderator of group differences in postconcussion symptom severity for parent-reported somatic and self-reported cognitive symptoms. During the first 30 days postinjury, both low and high screen time were associated with relatively more severe symptoms in the concussion group, but this finding was not seen after 30 days. Stronger associations with symptom severity than screen time were seen for other risk factors and health behaviors.

"The association of early screen time with postconcussion symptoms is not linear," the authors write. "These findings support advising moderation rather than blanket restrictions in screen time, especially beyond the first 48 hours, for children and adolescents postconcussion."

One author disclosed financial ties to 360 Concussion Care, an interdisciplinary concussion clinic.

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