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Cited by 114Child Development and Digital TechnologyAutism Spectrum Disorder ResearchImpact of Technology on Adolescents

Association Between Screen Time Exposure in Children at 1 Year of Age and Autism Spectrum Disorder at 3 Years of Age: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

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Kushima, Megumi, Kojima, Reiji, Shinohara, Ryoji, Horiuchi, Sayaka, Otawa, Sanae, Ooka, Tadao, Akiyama, Yuka, Miyake, Kunio +20 more·2022·JAMA Pediatrics
DOI 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5778PMC PMC8804971
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Abstract

IMPORTANCE: It is unclear to what extent the duration of screen time in infancy is associated with the subsequent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between screen time in infancy and the development of autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study analyzed data from mother-child dyads in a large birth cohort in Japan. This study included children born to women recruited between January 2011 and March 2014, and data were analyzed in December 2020. The study was conducted by the Japan Environment and Children's Study Group in collaboration with 15 regional centers across Japan. EXPOSURES: Screen time at 1 year of age. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The outcome variable, children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age, was assessed using a questionnaire administered to mothers of the participating children. RESULTS: A total of 84 030 mother-child dyads were analyzed. The prevalence of children with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age was 392 per 100 000 (0.4%), and boys were 3 times more likely to have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder than were girls. Logistic regression analysis showed that among boys, when "no screen" was the reference, the adjusted odds ratios were as follows: less than 1 hour, odds ratio, 1.38 (95 % CI, 0.71-2.69; P = .35), 1 hour to less than 2 hours, odds ratio, 2.16 (95 % CI, 1.13-4.14; P = .02), 2 hours to less than 4 hours, odds ratio, 3.48 (95% CI, 1.83-6.65; P < .001), and more than 4 hours, odds ratio, 3.02 (95% CI, 1.44-6.34; P = .04). Among girls, however, there was no association between autism spectrum disorder and screen time. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among boys, longer screen time at 1 year of age was significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age. With the rapid increase in device usage, it is necessary to review the health effects of screen time on infants and to control excessive screen time.

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  • Children exposed to excessive screen time at one year of age had an increased risk of ASD diagnoses by age three in the Japan Environment and Children's Study.

    “A large-scale study from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study [50] found that children exposed to excessive screen time at one year of age had an increased risk of ASD diagnoses by age three.”

    From The Impact of Social Media &amp; Technology on Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2025) · cites this paper as [50]

    The Conclusions (page unavailable) report that longer screen time at age one was associated with ASD at age three in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. The claim omits the finding’s key qualification: the paper identifies the statistically significant association among boys, not children of both sexes generally. Its observational finding establishes an association, not that screen time caused an increased risk. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Kushima, M., Kojima, R., Shinohara, R., Horiuchi, S., Otawa, S., Ooka, T., Akiyama, Y., Miyake, K., Yokomichi, H., Yamagata, Z., Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group, Kamijima, M., Yamazaki, S., Ohya, Y., Kishi, R., Yaegashi, N., Hashimoto, K., Mori, C., Ito, S., Yamagata, Z., Inadera, H., Nakayama, T., Iso, H., Shima, M., Nakamura, H., Suganuma, N., Kusuhara, K., & Katoh, T.
Affiliations
  • University of Yamanashi (JP)
  • and the Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group
Corresponding author
Kushima, Megumi
ORCID
Venue
JAMA Pediatrics
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2022-04-01
Volume
176
Issue
4
Pages
384
ISSN
  • 1072-4710 (ISSN-L)
  • 2168-6203
DOI
10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5778
PMC
PMC8804971
OpenAlex
W4210441228
Cited by
114
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 18
FWCI
53.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (21K10442, 20H03928, 18K17376)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, screen time, early childhood, sex differences, autism risk factors, mother-child cohort, Japan Environment and Children's Study, sex ratio at birth
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Screen Time, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Japan, Male, Cohort Studies, Odds Ratio

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