Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41913138›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2026

Ten years of screen time among medical students in Dresden, Germany: unveiling the trends.

Lukas Liebig, Willy Gräfe, Nicholas Lynch, Mandy Gottschall, Béla Birkás, Erika Balogh, Nora Faubl, Erika Zelko, Henna Riemenschneider

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Lukas LiebigDepartment of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, Saxony, 01307, Germany. Lukas.liebig@tu-dresden.de.
Willy GräfeDepartment of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, Saxony, 01307, Germany. willy.graefe@ukdd.de.
Nicholas LynchStudent, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Saxony, Germany.
Mandy GottschallDepartment of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, Saxony, 01307, Germany.
Béla BirkásDepartment of Behavioural Sciences, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary.
Erika BaloghDepartment of Public Health Medicine, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary.
Nora FaublDepartment of Behavioural Sciences, University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary.
Erika ZelkoInstitute of General Practice, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria.
Henna RiemenschneiderDepartment of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, Saxony, 01307, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionScreen time has become an integral part of academic and private life, especially for medical students, whose daily routines increasingly depend on digital devices. Prolonged screen time is associated with negative health outcomes. There is no long-term data on trends in screen time among medical students in Germany.

methodsData from n = 2656 medical students at TU Dresden were collected biennially (2014–2024) via the Medical Student Health Survey. Screen time for study/work and leisure was self-reported. Data were analyzed descriptively and via Generalized linear models to analyze screen time trends and associated factors.

resultsTotal daily screen time increased from M = 5.1 h (2014) to M = 7.7 h (2024) (+ 51.0%). Study/work-related screen time rose from M = 3.31 h to M = 5.23 h per day (+ 58.0%), and leisure screen time increased from M = 1.79 h to M = 2.46 h per day (+ 37.4%). Significant predictors of screen time included survey year, study phase, gender, age and living situation. DISCUSSION: Medical students’ screen time has increased significantly over the past decade. Increased screen time is associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including eye strain, impaired sleep, reduced cognitive performance, and diminished emotional well-being. Evidence-based interventions promoting digital health literacy and healthg-conscious screen use are needed to protect student health.

Indexed as

Screen TimeStudents, MedicalAdultDigital MediaFemaleGermanyHumansLeisure ActivitiesMaleYoung AdultGeneralized linear modelGermanyLongitudinal analysisMedia useMedical schoolMedical studentsRisk factorsScreen timeScreen useTrends

Identifiers

PMID41913138
PMCPMC13063611

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Registered trials

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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.