Screen Time and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Symptoms Among Young Adults in Bangladesh: An Online Cross-Sectional Study During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Keywords:
ADHD, screening time, young adult, prevalence, Bangladesh
Abstract
Objective. Mobile or computer device screening time contributes to developing attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study assessed the role of screening time in developing ADHD
symptoms in adults according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale
(ASRS).
Method. This research is an internet-based self-reported study on young adult people aged over 18 years
amid Covid-19 to collect information on ADHD symptoms and mobile/computer device screening time using
a web-based structured questionnaire.
Results. Among the 310 respondents, 124 (40%) had ADHD symptoms. Males with ADHD symptoms
(45%) were more than females (35%). Histories of using digital devices with screening time of more than 4
hours a day were seven times more likely to develop ADHD symptoms compared to the respondents who had
a history of using digital devices with screening time less than 3 hours (aOR 7.5, 95% CI: 3.62-24.92).
Conclusion. The occurrence of ADHD symptoms was not uncommon in young adults amid the COVID-19
pandemic. More awareness regarding the negative impact of longer screening time in progressing ADHD
among young adults needs to be improved to reduce the risk of developing ADHD.
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References
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Alrahili, N., Aldakheel, A. A., AlUbied, A., Almalki, A., AlBarrak, A., Al-Dosari, B., Alhemaidi, W., Alamro, A. S., & Alageel, A. A. (2019). Prevalence of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among medical students in Riyadh City. Int J Med Dev Ctries, 3, 246-251.
Araf, Y., Akter, F., Tang, Y. d., Fatemi, R., Parvez, S. A., Zheng, C., & Hossain, G. (2022). Omicron variant of SARS‐CoV‐2: Genomics, transmissibility, and responses to current COVID‐19 vaccines. Journal of Medical Virology. 94(5),1825-1832.
BTRC. (2021). Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Available from: http://www.btrc.gov.bd (Accessed February 10, 2022).
Chung, W., Jiang, S.-F., Paksarian, D., Nikolaidis, A., Castellanos, F. X., Merikangas, K. R., & Milham, M. P. (2019). Trends in the prevalence and incidence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adults and children of different racial and ethnic groups. JAMA Network Open, 2(11), e1914344-e1914344.
Diomidous, M., Chardalias, K., Magita, A., Koutonias, P., Panagiotopoulou, P., & Mantas, J. (2016). Social and psychological effects of the internet use. Acta Informatica Medica, 24(1), 66.
Dos Santos Assef, E. C., Capovilla, A. G. S., & Capovilla, F. C. (2007). Computerized Stroop test to assess selective attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 10(1), 33-40.
Ebejer, J. L., Medland, S. E., Van Der Werf, J., Gondro, C., Henders, A. K., Lynskey, M., Martin, Nicholas, G., & Duffy, D. L. (2012). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Australian adults: prevalence, persistence, conduct problems and disadvantage. PLoS One. 2012; 7(10), e47404.
Falbe, J., Davison, K. K., Franckle, R. L., Ganter, C., Gortmaker, S. L., Smith, L., Land, T., & Taveras, E. M. (2015). Sleep duration, restfulness, and screens in the sleep environment. Pediatrics, 135(2), e367-e375.
Fayyad, J., De Graaf, R., Kessler, R., Alonso, J., Angermeyer, M., Demyttenaere, K., De Girolamo, G., Haro, J. M., Karam, Elie, G., & Lara, C. (2007). Cross-national prevalence and correlates of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 190(5), 402-409.
Ginsberg, Y., Quintero, J., Anand, E., Casillas, M., & Upadhyaya, H. P. (2014). Underdiagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adult patients: a review of the literature. The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 16(3), 23591.
Grover, K., Pecor, K., Malkowski, M., Kang, L., Machado, S., Lulla, R., Heisey, D., & Ming, X. (2016). Effects of instant messaging on school performance in adolescents. Journal of Child Neurology, 31(7), 850-857.
Gundogar, A., Bakim, B., Ozer, O., & Karamustafalioglu, O. (2012). P-32-The association between internet addiction, depression and ADHD among high school students. European Psychiatry, 27(S1), 1-1.
Hasan, C. M. M., Islam, M. M., Mahib, M. M. R., & Arju, M. A. C. (2016). Prevalence and assessment of biochemical parameters of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder children in Bangladesh. Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy, 7(3), 70.
Hassan, T., Alam, M. M., Wahab, A., & Hawlader, M. D. (2020). Prevalence and associated factors of internet addiction among young adults in Bangladesh. Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association, 95(1), 1-8.
Hesson, J., & Fowler, K. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of self-reported ADD/ADHD in a large national sample of Canadian adults. Journal of Attention Disorders, 22(2), 191-200.
Humayun Kabir, M., Hasan, K., & Bhuya, M. T. R. (2021). Recommendations for school-going students post CoVid-19 in Bangladesh. Bioinformation, 17(4), 500.
Hysing, M., Pallesen, S., Stormark, K. M., Jakobsen, R., Lundervold, A. J., & Sivertsen, B. (2015). Sleep and use of electronic devices in adolescence: results from a large population-based study. BMJ Open, 5(1), e006748.
Kavakci, O., Kugu, N., Semiz, M., Meydan, F., Karsikaya, S., & Dogan, O. (2012). Prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and co-morbid disorders among students of Cumhuriyet University. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 26(2), 107-117.
Kemp, S. (2021). Digital 2021: Global overview report. Available from: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-global-overview-report (Accessed February 4, 2022).
Kessler, R. C., Adler, L., Ames, M., Demler, O., Faraone, S., Hiripi, E. V. A., Howes, M. J., Jin, R., Secnik, K., & Spencer, T. (2005). The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population. Psychological Medicine, 35(2), 245-256.
Lissak, G. (2018). Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents: Literature review and case study. Environmental Research, 164, 149-157.
Mackolil, J., & Mackolil, J. (2020). Addressing psychosocial problems associated with the COVID-19 lockdown. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 102156.
Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Orgera, K., Cox, C., Garfield, R., Hamel, L., & Chidambaram, P. (2020). The implications of COVID-19 for mental health and substance use. Kaiser Family Foundation, 21.
Perrin, J. M., Stein, M. T., Amler, R. W., Blondis, T. A., Feldman, H., Meyer, B., Shaywitz, BA, & Wolraich, M. L (2001). Clinical practice guideline: treatment of the school-aged child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics, 108(4), 1033-1044.
Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone, M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N. I., Moroney, E., Tung, I., Lee, S. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adolescents. JAMA, 320(3), 255-263.
Rajkumar, R. P. (2020). COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 102066.
Ripon, R. K., Mim, S. S., Puente, A. E., Hossain, S., Babor, M. M. H., Sohan, S. A., & Islam, N. (2020). COVID-19: psychological effects on a COVID-19 quarantined population in Bangladesh. Heliyon, 6(11), e05481.
Schäfer, S. K., Sopp, M. R., Schanz, C. G., Staginnus, M., Göritz, A. S., & Michael, T. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on public mental health and the buffering effect of a sense of coherence. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 89(6), 386-392.
Shahriar, S. H. B., Arafat, S., Sultana, N., Akter, S., Khan, M. M. R., Nur, J. E. H., & Khan, S. I. (2021). The transformation of education during the corona pandemic: exploring the perspective of the private university students in Bangladesh. Asian Association of Open Universities Journal. 16(2), 161-176.
Sifat, R. I. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: Mental stress, depression, anxiety among the university students in Bangladesh. Soc Psychiatry, 1(2).
Simon, V., Czobor, P., Bálint, S., Mészáros, A., & Bitter, I. (2009). Prevalence and correlates of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 194(3), 204-211.
Small, G. W., Lee, J., Kaufman, A., Jalil, J., Siddarth, P., Gaddipati, H., Moody, T. D., & Bookheimer, S. Y. (2020). Brain health consequences of digital technology use. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(2), 179.
Smith, M. (2017). Hyperactive around the world? The history of ADHD in global perspective. Social History of Medicine, 30(4), 767-787.
Spencer, T., Biederman, J., Wilens, T. E., & Faraone, S. V. (1998). Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a controversial diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 59(7), 59-68.
Steinfeld, B., Scott, J., Vilander, G., Marx, L., Quirk, M., Lindberg, J., & Koerner, K. (2015). The role of lean process improvement in implementation of evidence-based practices in behavioral health care. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 42(4), 504-518.
Sultana, A., Tasnim, S., Hossain, M. M., Bhattacharya, S., & Purohit, N. (2021). Digital screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic: a public health concern. F1000Research, 10(81), 81.
Sun, L., Tang, Y., & Zuo, W. (2020). Coronavirus pushes education online. Nature Materials, 19(6), 687-687.
Vargo, D., Zhu, L., Benwell, B., & Yan, Z. (2021). Digital technology use during COVID‐19 pandemic: A rapid review. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(1), 13-24.
Vindegaard, N., & Benros, M. E. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic and mental health consequences: Systematic review of the current evidence. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 89, 531-542.
Volkow, N. D., & Swanson, J. M. (2013). Adult attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(20), 1935-1944.
Wang, B., Yao, N., Zhou, X., Liu, J., & Lv, Z. T. (2017). The association between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and internet addiction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 1-12.
WHO. (2022). WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19). https://covid19.who.int/. (Accessed February 4, 2022).
Yen, J. Y., Yen, C. F., Chen, C. S., Tang, T. C., & Ko, C. H. (2009). The association between adult ADHD symptoms and internet addiction among college students: the gender difference. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12(2), 187-191.
Al Tawil, L., Aldokhayel, S., Zeitouni, L., Qadoumi, T., Hussein, S., & Ahamed, S. S. (2020). Prevalence of self-reported computer vision syndrome symptoms and its associated factors among university students. European Journal of Ophthalmology, 30(1), 189-195.
Alrahili, N., Aldakheel, A. A., AlUbied, A., Almalki, A., AlBarrak, A., Al-Dosari, B., Alhemaidi, W., Alamro, A. S., & Alageel, A. A. (2019). Prevalence of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among medical students in Riyadh City. Int J Med Dev Ctries, 3, 246-251.
Araf, Y., Akter, F., Tang, Y. d., Fatemi, R., Parvez, S. A., Zheng, C., & Hossain, G. (2022). Omicron variant of SARS‐CoV‐2: Genomics, transmissibility, and responses to current COVID‐19 vaccines. Journal of Medical Virology. 94(5),1825-1832.
BTRC. (2021). Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Available from: http://www.btrc.gov.bd (Accessed February 10, 2022).
Chung, W., Jiang, S.-F., Paksarian, D., Nikolaidis, A., Castellanos, F. X., Merikangas, K. R., & Milham, M. P. (2019). Trends in the prevalence and incidence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adults and children of different racial and ethnic groups. JAMA Network Open, 2(11), e1914344-e1914344.
Diomidous, M., Chardalias, K., Magita, A., Koutonias, P., Panagiotopoulou, P., & Mantas, J. (2016). Social and psychological effects of the internet use. Acta Informatica Medica, 24(1), 66.
Dos Santos Assef, E. C., Capovilla, A. G. S., & Capovilla, F. C. (2007). Computerized Stroop test to assess selective attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 10(1), 33-40.
Ebejer, J. L., Medland, S. E., Van Der Werf, J., Gondro, C., Henders, A. K., Lynskey, M., Martin, Nicholas, G., & Duffy, D. L. (2012). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Australian adults: prevalence, persistence, conduct problems and disadvantage. PLoS One. 2012; 7(10), e47404.
Falbe, J., Davison, K. K., Franckle, R. L., Ganter, C., Gortmaker, S. L., Smith, L., Land, T., & Taveras, E. M. (2015). Sleep duration, restfulness, and screens in the sleep environment. Pediatrics, 135(2), e367-e375.
Fayyad, J., De Graaf, R., Kessler, R., Alonso, J., Angermeyer, M., Demyttenaere, K., De Girolamo, G., Haro, J. M., Karam, Elie, G., & Lara, C. (2007). Cross-national prevalence and correlates of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 190(5), 402-409.
Ginsberg, Y., Quintero, J., Anand, E., Casillas, M., & Upadhyaya, H. P. (2014). Underdiagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adult patients: a review of the literature. The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 16(3), 23591.
Grover, K., Pecor, K., Malkowski, M., Kang, L., Machado, S., Lulla, R., Heisey, D., & Ming, X. (2016). Effects of instant messaging on school performance in adolescents. Journal of Child Neurology, 31(7), 850-857.
Gundogar, A., Bakim, B., Ozer, O., & Karamustafalioglu, O. (2012). P-32-The association between internet addiction, depression and ADHD among high school students. European Psychiatry, 27(S1), 1-1.
Hasan, C. M. M., Islam, M. M., Mahib, M. M. R., & Arju, M. A. C. (2016). Prevalence and assessment of biochemical parameters of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder children in Bangladesh. Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy, 7(3), 70.
Hassan, T., Alam, M. M., Wahab, A., & Hawlader, M. D. (2020). Prevalence and associated factors of internet addiction among young adults in Bangladesh. Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association, 95(1), 1-8.
Hesson, J., & Fowler, K. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of self-reported ADD/ADHD in a large national sample of Canadian adults. Journal of Attention Disorders, 22(2), 191-200.
Humayun Kabir, M., Hasan, K., & Bhuya, M. T. R. (2021). Recommendations for school-going students post CoVid-19 in Bangladesh. Bioinformation, 17(4), 500.
Hysing, M., Pallesen, S., Stormark, K. M., Jakobsen, R., Lundervold, A. J., & Sivertsen, B. (2015). Sleep and use of electronic devices in adolescence: results from a large population-based study. BMJ Open, 5(1), e006748.
Kavakci, O., Kugu, N., Semiz, M., Meydan, F., Karsikaya, S., & Dogan, O. (2012). Prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and co-morbid disorders among students of Cumhuriyet University. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 26(2), 107-117.
Kemp, S. (2021). Digital 2021: Global overview report. Available from: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-global-overview-report (Accessed February 4, 2022).
Kessler, R. C., Adler, L., Ames, M., Demler, O., Faraone, S., Hiripi, E. V. A., Howes, M. J., Jin, R., Secnik, K., & Spencer, T. (2005). The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population. Psychological Medicine, 35(2), 245-256.
Lissak, G. (2018). Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents: Literature review and case study. Environmental Research, 164, 149-157.
Mackolil, J., & Mackolil, J. (2020). Addressing psychosocial problems associated with the COVID-19 lockdown. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 102156.
Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Orgera, K., Cox, C., Garfield, R., Hamel, L., & Chidambaram, P. (2020). The implications of COVID-19 for mental health and substance use. Kaiser Family Foundation, 21.
Perrin, J. M., Stein, M. T., Amler, R. W., Blondis, T. A., Feldman, H., Meyer, B., Shaywitz, BA, & Wolraich, M. L (2001). Clinical practice guideline: treatment of the school-aged child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics, 108(4), 1033-1044.
Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone, M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N. I., Moroney, E., Tung, I., Lee, S. S., & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adolescents. JAMA, 320(3), 255-263.
Rajkumar, R. P. (2020). COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 102066.
Ripon, R. K., Mim, S. S., Puente, A. E., Hossain, S., Babor, M. M. H., Sohan, S. A., & Islam, N. (2020). COVID-19: psychological effects on a COVID-19 quarantined population in Bangladesh. Heliyon, 6(11), e05481.
Schäfer, S. K., Sopp, M. R., Schanz, C. G., Staginnus, M., Göritz, A. S., & Michael, T. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on public mental health and the buffering effect of a sense of coherence. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 89(6), 386-392.
Shahriar, S. H. B., Arafat, S., Sultana, N., Akter, S., Khan, M. M. R., Nur, J. E. H., & Khan, S. I. (2021). The transformation of education during the corona pandemic: exploring the perspective of the private university students in Bangladesh. Asian Association of Open Universities Journal. 16(2), 161-176.
Sifat, R. I. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: Mental stress, depression, anxiety among the university students in Bangladesh. Soc Psychiatry, 1(2).
Simon, V., Czobor, P., Bálint, S., Mészáros, A., & Bitter, I. (2009). Prevalence and correlates of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 194(3), 204-211.
Small, G. W., Lee, J., Kaufman, A., Jalil, J., Siddarth, P., Gaddipati, H., Moody, T. D., & Bookheimer, S. Y. (2020). Brain health consequences of digital technology use. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(2), 179.
Smith, M. (2017). Hyperactive around the world? The history of ADHD in global perspective. Social History of Medicine, 30(4), 767-787.
Spencer, T., Biederman, J., Wilens, T. E., & Faraone, S. V. (1998). Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a controversial diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 59(7), 59-68.
Steinfeld, B., Scott, J., Vilander, G., Marx, L., Quirk, M., Lindberg, J., & Koerner, K. (2015). The role of lean process improvement in implementation of evidence-based practices in behavioral health care. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 42(4), 504-518.
Sultana, A., Tasnim, S., Hossain, M. M., Bhattacharya, S., & Purohit, N. (2021). Digital screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic: a public health concern. F1000Research, 10(81), 81.
Sun, L., Tang, Y., & Zuo, W. (2020). Coronavirus pushes education online. Nature Materials, 19(6), 687-687.
Vargo, D., Zhu, L., Benwell, B., & Yan, Z. (2021). Digital technology use during COVID‐19 pandemic: A rapid review. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(1), 13-24.
Vindegaard, N., & Benros, M. E. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic and mental health consequences: Systematic review of the current evidence. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 89, 531-542.
Volkow, N. D., & Swanson, J. M. (2013). Adult attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(20), 1935-1944.
Wang, B., Yao, N., Zhou, X., Liu, J., & Lv, Z. T. (2017). The association between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and internet addiction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 1-12.
WHO. (2022). WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19). https://covid19.who.int/. (Accessed February 4, 2022).
Yen, J. Y., Yen, C. F., Chen, C. S., Tang, T. C., & Ko, C. H. (2009). The association between adult ADHD symptoms and internet addiction among college students: the gender difference. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12(2), 187-191.
Published
2022-12-26
Section
Articles
