Association of sex, sexual maturation, age group, economic class, and nutritional status with the different cutoff points of screen time in adolescents

Abstract

Objectives: to estimate the prevalence of adolescents’ screen time in three different scenarios and possible associations with gender, sexual maturation, age group, economic class, and nutritional status. Methods: a cross-sectional study conducted with a representative sample of 3,979 adolescents from Greater Curitiba. Screen time (television, computer, and video game) was self-reported and categorized as ≤2h/day, >2 to ≤4h/day, and >4h/day. Ordinal logistic regression tested the associations. Results: the sample consisted of adolescents of 14.60±1.88 years old, most girls (51.2%). The prevalence of screen time >4h/day was 89.3%. Girls (OR=0.61; CI95%=0.49-0.76) and the older age groups (“14 to 16 years” OR=0.29; CI95%=0.22-0.39, and “17 to 19 years” OR=0.11; CI95%=0.08-0.16) were less likely to be in the groups of higher screen time. Conclusions: screen time above four hours seems to be the most prevalent among adolescents. Older girls and teens are less likely to have higher screen time.