Screen Time and Its Relation to Cardiometabolic Risk Among Children and Adolescents: The Caspian-Iii Study



Safiri S^{1, 2} ; Kelishadi R³ ; Qorbani M^{4, 5} ; Abbasighahramanloo A² ; Motlagh ME^{6, 7} ; Ardalan G⁷ ; Shafiee G⁵ ; Ahadi Z⁵ ; Sanaei M⁵ ; Asayesh H⁸ ; Larijani B⁹ ; Heshmat R⁵
Source: Iranian Journal of Public Health Published:2015

Abstract

Background: Among chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs), the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes is more prominent. CNCDs origin in early life; with sedentary habits, notably prolonged screen time (ST), leisure time spent on watching TV and working computer, suggested as one of their risk factors. We aimed to investi-gate the relationship between ST and cardiometabolic risk factors in a nationally representative sample of Iranian chil-dren and adolescents. Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 5,625 school students aged 10-18 were studied in the third national survey of a school-based surveillance program. For ensuring representativeness of sample, subjects were selected using multistage random cluster sampling method from urban and rural areas of 27 provinces in Iran (2009-10). ST was as-sessed through validated self-administered questionnaire, and cardiometabolic factors were determined. In addition, metabolic syndrome components were defined based on the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria modified for the pedi-atric age group. In addition, high total cholesterol (TC), high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and gener-alized obesity were assessed as other cardiometabolic risk factors. Results: Mean age was 14.73±2.41. While, positive significant association was found between ST and abdominal obe-sity, blood pressure, levels of LDL-C and triglycerides (P <0.05), it was reversely correlated with HDL-C level (P <0.05). However, there was positive but not statistically significant association between ST and odds of metabolic syndrome (P =0.32). Conclusion: The association between ST and some metabolic syndrome components, reducing ST should be consid-ered as one of the preventive strategies among children and adolescents. © 2016, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved.