SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2024
The Worldwide Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Internet addiction among nursing students: application of latent profile analysis and network analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Exploring associations between problematic technology-dependent behaviors, physical and mental health, sleep quality, and academic procrastination among medical students.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Psychological Well-Being, Substance Use, and Internet Consumption Among Students and Teaching Staff of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Well-Being and Dissatisfaction.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Association between internet addiction and sleep quality in medical students: a longitudinal study.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Internet addiction and mental health: a cross-sectional study and mediation analysis in medical students with a psychiatric major.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe internet helps us obtain necessary information, facilitates social communication, and provides access to entertainment content. The internet can also lead to the behavioral addictive condition termed internet addiction (IA) if used excessively. As active internet users, medical students are susceptible to IA, which is known to lead to depression and improper medical care delivery, poor academic performance, worse sleep quality, and undesirable financial issues. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess medical students' pooled IA prevalence.
methodsThe analysis included thirteen cross-sectional studies involving 4787 medical students. Cumulative, subgroup, and meta-regression meta-analyses were applied, using the random-effects model and the restricted maximum likelihood method.
resultsThe cumulative meta-analysis revealed a rise in the proportion of IA from 0.08 to 0.29, with minor fluctuations between 2015 and 2022. The IA prevalence in lower-middle-income countries was approximately three times higher than in high-income ones. Age and gender were not associated with IA among medical students.
conclusionsThe worldwide prevalence of IA was 0.29, with a 95% CI between 0.19 and 0.41. Considering negative IA implications for medical students' well-being, policymakers and all stakeholders should pay special attention to addressing IA within the medical student community.
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