SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2020
Smartphone Overuse and Visual Impairment in Children and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 123 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of Smartphones and Wrist-Worn Devices for Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review of Commercially Available Technologies.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths' interactions with electronic screens.Nature human behaviour · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of a 14-day social media abstinence on mental health and well-being: results from an experimental study.BMC psychology · 2024Trial
- Exploring the Association Between Internet Use and Dietary Habits of Adolescents and University Students in Greece: A Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Cervical Oculopathy: The Cervical Spine Etiology of Visual Symptoms and Eye Diseases-A Hypothesis Exploring Mechanisms Linking the Neck and the Eye.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Observational
- Molecular and Neurobiological Imbalance from the Use of Technological Devices During Early Child Development Stages.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Low Visual Acuity Among Children in Public Schools in the Northeast of Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Assessment of digital eye strain and its associated factors among school children in Palestine.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Association of lifestyle and behavioral factors with self-reported visual problems among schoolchildren in rural Bangladesh.PloS one · 2025Article
- Prevalence and associated risk factors of visual impairment in school children: mHealth-based vision screening in government schools of Rawalpindi, Pakistan.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- The moderating role of social support in the relationship between alexithymia and problematic smartphone use among Chinese depressed adolescents: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Exploring the Intrinsic Association Between Perceived Social Support and Depressive Symptoms and Problematic Phone Use Among College Students Based on Network Analysis.Psychology research and behavior management · 2025Article
- Objective Evaluation of Relationship Between Tear Film Stability and Visual Fatigue.Clinical optometry · 2025Article
- A Smartphone App for the Management of Postoperative Home Recovery After Thoracic Surgery Procedures: A Pilot Study Using the Care4Today™ App.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Trends in the prevalence and burden of blindness and vision loss among adolescents aged 10-24 years in the Western Pacific Region over 30 years.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Socio-demographic and other factors contributing to excessive leisure screen time in preadolescent children.Central European journal of public health · 2024Observational
- Prevalence and Associated Factors of Physical Complaints Among Japanese Esports Players: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2024Article
- Article
- Elderly people's perceptions on the use of mobile phones to support the self-management of long-term illnesses at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital.African health sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSmartphone overuse has been cited as a potentially modifiable risk factor that can result in visual impairment. However, reported associations between smartphone overuse and visual impairment have been inconsistent.
objectiveThe aim of this systematic review was to determine the association between smartphone overuse and visual impairment, including myopia, blurred vision, and poor vision, in children and young adults.
methodsWe conducted a systematic search in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science Core Collection, and ScienceDirect databases since the beginning of the databases up to June 2020. Fourteen eligible studies (10 cross-sectional studies and 4 controlled trials) were identified, which included a total of 27,110 subjects with a mean age ranging from 9.5 to 26.0 years. We used a random-effects model for meta-analysis of the 10 cross-sectional studies (26,962 subjects) and a fixed-effects model for meta-analysis of the 4 controlled trials (148 subjects) to combine odds ratios (ORs) and effect sizes (ES). The I
resultsA pooled OR of 1.05 (95% CI 0.98-1.13, P=.16) was obtained from the cross-sectional studies, suggesting that smartphone overuse is not significantly associated with myopia, poor vision, or blurred vision; however, these visual impairments together were more apparent in children (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.99-1.14, P=.09) than in young adults (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.57-1.46,P=.71). For the 4 controlled trials, the smartphone overuse groups showed worse visual function scores compared with the reduced-use groups. The pooled ES was 0.76 (95% CI 0.53-0.99), which was statistically significant (P<.001).
conclusionsLonger smartphone use may increase the likelihood of ocular symptoms, including myopia, asthenopia, and ocular surface disease, especially in children. Thus, regulating use time and restricting the prolonged use of smartphones may prevent ocular and visual symptoms. Further research on the patterns of use, with longer follow up on the longitudinal associations, will help to inform detailed guidelines and recommendations for smartphone use in children and young adults.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.