SynthesisBMC public health2026
Comprehensive effects and dose-response relationship of screen exposure on university students' physical and mental health and academic performance in the digital age: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Screen use, health status, and self-perceived academic performance among Swedish dental and nursing students: an exploratory cross-sectional survey study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Determinants of Poor Sleep Quality among Undergraduate College Students in Karnal, Haryana, India.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study aims to systematically review the impact of total screen time on university students' health outcomes and academic performance, and to explore its dose–response relationship.
methodsThe PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases were systematically searched to collect studies related to university students' screen time, with the search period from inception to July 2025. After two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed quality, meta-analysis was performed using Stata 17.0 software. The pooled effect sizes were the reported odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Additionally, dose–response analysis was performed using R 4.4.3 software, and restricted cubic splines were used to fit the non-linear dose–response curve at fixed knots of the exposure distribution.
resultsA total of 69 cross-sectional studies and 3 longitudinal studies were included, comprising 71,633 university students. Meta-analysis results showed that screen time was significantly associated with an increased risk of depression (OR = 1.93; 95%CI: 1.75–2.12) and digital eye strain (OR = 1.96; 95%CI: 1.67–2.31). Dose–response analysis further revealed that after daily screen time exceeded 2.5 h, the risks of depression and digital eye strain increased sharply, with the risks increasing by more than 15% for each additional hour of screen exposure. In addition, screen time was also significantly associated with anxiety, stress, physical pain, sleep quality deterioration, insufficient physical activity, and reduced academic performance, with OR values ranging from 1.12 to 1.79. However, no significant associations were found between screen time and sleep duration or body mass index (BMI).
conclusionsCurrent evidence indicates that screen time exerts adverse effects on university students' mental health, physical pain, sleep quality, digital eye strain, physical activity, and academic performance, while no significant association is observed between screen time and sleep duration or BMI. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: The review protocol has been registered at the PROSPERO website since 26 May 2025 (CRD420251060967).
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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.