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Different aspects of electronic media use, symptoms and neurocognitive outcomes of children and adolescents in the rural Western Cape region of South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Chetty-Mhlanga, Shala
dc.contributor.author Fuhrimann, Samuel
dc.contributor.author Eeftens, Marloes
dc.contributor.author Basera, Wisdom
dc.contributor.author Hartinger Peña, Stella Maria
dc.contributor.author Dalvie, Mohamed Aqiel
dc.contributor.author Röösli, Martin
dc.date.accessioned 2020-07-14T00:01:03Z
dc.date.available 2020-07-14T00:01:03Z
dc.date.issued 2020
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12866/8261
dc.description.abstract BACKGROUND: Electronic media use is increasing in low- and middle-income countries, thus we aim to investigate the prevalence of different aspects of e-media use and its association to symptoms and neurocognitive outcomes in rural South Africa. METHODS: In the cohort study, "Child health Agricultural Pesticide study in South Africa (CapSA)", of 1001 children and adolescents, aged 9-16 years, we enquired at baseline about the following aspects of e-media use: (1) call duration (2) total screen time (3) night-time awakenings from mobile phone use, and (4) Mobile Phone Problematic Use. Four health outcomes were included: sleep disturbance, health related quality of life (HRQoL), headaches and cognitive performance, assessed through six tests on domains of attention, memory and processing speed, using the iPad-based software, CAmbridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Linear regression analysis adjusted for relevant confounders was conducted with categorized exposure variables low, medium and high use. RESULTS: One third of the cohort (31.8%) are mobile phone users reporting average duration of calls per day up to 75min (mean=2.5 mins; SD=8.9 mins). Amongst 46% of the cohort who report e-media device use, total screen time ranged from 1min to 441min (mean=28.3; SD=53.0). Findings Amongst those reporting regular night-time awakenings (≥1 times per week) from mobile phones, HRQol declined by 2.9 (95% CI: -6.1, 0.3), the sleep disturbance score increased by 2.0 (1.1, 2.9) units and headache impact score significantly increased by 5.4 (2.6; 8.2) units compared to non-exposed. Cognitive performance scores tended to be slightly improved mostly in moderate e-media users. The reaction response speed was consistently improved amongst all four exposure groups compared to non-users. CONCLUSION: These results are among the first from Africa on benefits and risks associated with e-media use. Our findings imply that with regard to the education of adolescents, a vigilant balance is needed to profit from the beneficial effects of moderate e-media use on cognition, while preventing the negative side effects for HRQoL, sleep disturbance and headache severity. en_US
dc.language.iso eng
dc.publisher Elsevier
dc.relation.ispartofseries Environmental Research
dc.rights info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es
dc.subject Electronic media use en_US
dc.subject Mobile phone en_US
dc.subject Neurocognitive outcomes en_US
dc.subject Rural community en_US
dc.subject School-age children and adolescents en_US
dc.subject Symptoms en_US
dc.title Different aspects of electronic media use, symptoms and neurocognitive outcomes of children and adolescents in the rural Western Cape region of South Africa en_US
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109315
dc.subject.ocde https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#1.05.08
dc.subject.ocde https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#3.03.05
dc.relation.issn 1096-0953


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