The connection between autism and screen time in one year olds
I would like to share a fascinating article that was published in the JAMA Pediatrics medical journal in January 2022 that researched the association between screen time for one years old to the diagnosis of autism at three years old.
In my opinion, every parent needs to be aware of these results.
Introduction – Disclaimer: no one is pretending to claim that there is one factor that causes autism. There are a multitude of contributing factors; however, of these factors, there are some acquired factors that we can control. One such example is screen time.
Previous research hypothesized that there is an association between infants’ screen time and autism. The results led the World Health Organization to determine that children under one years old should not be exposed to any screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics went on to suggest that no screen time should be offered under the age of 18 months.
Methods – a massive, Japanese cohort followed over 100,00 families from 15 different medical centers. The parents filled out detailed questionnaires at the age of one years old and three years old. These questionnaires included questions about screen time as well as questions about other factors that can predict autism (e.g. existing behavioral patterns of children and their parents), in order to isolate screen time from other factors that have been associated with autism.
Results – Despite the aforementioned recommendations, the overwhelming majority (90%) of children at the age of one years old were exposed to screen time.
The prevalence of autism in these children at the age of three years old was 0.4% which is lower than the prevalence usually recorded in Asian countries (0.7%); however, we need to remember that many cases of autism are diagnosed after the age of three years old. As expected, most of the cases were seen in boys (76%).
Regarding the research question – screen time was found to be in direct correlation with the diagnosis of autism at the age of 3 years old. The more screen time, the higher the prevalence of autism in boys, regardless of all other factors that this research analyzed. Interestingly, this correlation was not found in girls.
Discussion – there is a compelling discussion the delves into effect of screen time on a child’s physiology and discuses similar effects observed in animal models. To summarize, there is no doubt that there is a physiological base to the association found in this research.
Does this research suggest that there are different contributing factors to autism amongst boys and girls? Perhaps.
Nonetheless, to all parents of small children, girls and boys, please recognize this research and lower screen time as much as possible to all children younger than 18 months. They have their entire lives to be exposed to screen time.
Trust me that I know that it’s easy to say and hard to do, but the results are unabatingly conclusive!
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