Japanese scientists say boys who spent more time watching screens at one year old were more likely to have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age three. They looked at 84,030 mum-bub pairs and say each extra hour of screentime further increased the risk of ASD at age three, but only in boys. Duration of screentime at age one had no effect on the risk of an autism diagnosis at age three in girls. The researchers say that, as everyone's exposure to screens is rising rapidly, more research on the effects of screen time on infants is required, and parents should consider limiting the time their young children spend staring at screens.
Journal/conference: JAMA Pediatrics
Link to research (DOI): 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5778
Organisation/s: University of Yamanashi, Japan
Examining Association Between Screen Time in Children at Age 1, Autism Spectrum Disorder at Age 3
What The Study Did: Researchers investigated the association between screen time at age 1 and the presence or absence of an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis at age 3 among 84,000 children in Japan.
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