Association of screen time with subjective health complaints in Iranian school-aged children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-V study

Background Sedentary leisure time might be affecting children’s and adolescents’ general health. We investigated the association between watching television and computer use in this age group and psychosomatic health complaints. Methods This study of 14,274 students aged 7–18 years was conducted in Iran between 2014 and 2015, as part of the fifth school-based nationwide health survey named the childhood and adolescence surveillance and prevention of adult non-communicable disease (CASPIAN-V) study. In addition to gathering data on time spent watching television or using a computer per day, we categorized the health complaints into somatic (headache, backache, stomach ache, and feeling dizzy) and psychological (feeling low, feeling nervous, irritability, and difficulty falling asleep) symptoms. Regression models were used to determine the relationships between variables. Results All psychological health complaints, as well as headaches, were significantly more prevalent in the over-14 age group, both in girls and boys. Lower socioeconomic status, living in families where one or two parents were absent, and living in urban areas were all associated with higher psychosomatic health problems. Also, more time spent watching television was associated with more stomach aches and irritability (OR = 1.12 and 1.14 respectively). More time spent using a computer correlated with a higher prevalence of stomach aches, irritability, feeling nervous, and difficulty falling asleep (OR = 1.15, 1.12, 1.29, and 1.07 respectively). Conclusion Prolonged time spent on television watching or computer use might be associated with adverse effects on children’s and adolescents’ psychosomatic health status.