Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42889402›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pediatrics2026

Association between discretionary screen time and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

Zhi Xu, Shuye Yang, Shibin Wang, Xing Wang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pediatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Zhi Xu *Department of Neurosis and Psychosomatic Diseases, The Third Hospital of Quzhou, Quzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Shuye Yang *Department of Neurology, Binzhou People's Hospital, Binzhou, Shandong, China.
Shibin WangGuangdong Mental Health Center, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Xing WangDepartment of Neurosis and Psychosomatic Diseases, Huzhou Third Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou Normal University, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Adolescents globally exhibit growing engagement with discretionary screen time, but its association with depressive symptoms remains unclear in developing economies. Objective: To examine the relationship between discretionary screen time and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 4,706 adolescents in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, China. Participants were stratified into four discretionary screen time categories: <1 h ( Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 29.7% (1,398/4,706). In the primary multilevel model (random intercepts for school and class; adjusted for sociodemographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, without BMI, anxiety and insomnia), compared with the <1 h reference group, the odds ratios were 1.21 (95% CI: 0.98-1.49; Conclusion: Prolonged discretionary screen time is significantly associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents, indicating a graded association that strengthens with increasing screen time. These findings are relevant to public-health monitoring of discretionary screen use in adolescents.

Indexed as

adolescentsChinese adolescentscross-sectional studydepressive symptomsdiscretionary screen time

Identifiers

PMID42889402
PMCPMC13669189

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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.