Date of Award

12-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MS in Epidemiology & Biostatistics

First Advisor

Dr. Shafquat Rozi

Second Advisor

Dr. Sobiya Sawani

Third Advisor

Dr. Fareeha Sheikh

Department

Community Health Sciences

Abstract

Introduction: Screen time refers to using any screen-based device and may include internet gaming, reading books online, online courses or classes, watching movies or television or merely scrolling on social media websites or applications. (2) All these activities are done using screen-based devices for example smart phones, televisions, tablets, laptops, and video-gaming consoles. (2) Among all sedentary behaviors, screen time use is the most prevalent sedentary behavior observed amongst adolescents.(2) The World Health Organization recommends that children and adolescents should have their screen time limited to 2 hours a day. (5) It has previously been demonstrated in studies that an excess of screen time is linked with negative consequences on children’s physical, cognitive, and mental health and therefore poor health-related quality of life. (6)
Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in schools of Karachi to assess the association between daily screen time of school-going adolescents (n=433) aged 15 to 19 years with their health-related quality of life.
Results: 88.5% had a screen-time greater than recommended that is more than or equal to two hours a day. The mean age of participants was 16.1±1.2 years. No significant association was observed between screen time duration and HRQoL. However inadequate sleep, lack of physical activity, being bullied and anger management issues were found to be significant predictors of poor HRQoL. The mean HRQoL score of the participants was 70.7±9.3.
Conclusion: The results of this study also suggest that screen-time in adolescents aged 15-19 years may not be significantly harmful to their HRQoL, contrary to what has been previously believed and reported in studies.

First Page

1

Last Page

88

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