Increased screen time an early sign of autism, ADHD in children?

Children with a genetic predisposition to autism spectrum disorder ASD were more likely to use screens for longer periods according to a studyWhile long periods of screen time in childhood have been suggested to be a cause of ASDattention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD the results of this study suggest that some people may have a genetic disposition to use screens because of ASDThe findings published in the journal Psychiatry Research showed that children with a higher genetic susceptibility to ASD used devices with screens longer 3 hours a day or 4 hours a day from early childhoodThey also found that kids with a high genetic risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD gradually increased their screen time as they grew older even if their initial screen use time was shortldquoOverall those with a genetic risk of ASD were 15 times more likely to be in the group with about three hours of screen time per day and 21 times more likely to be in the group with more than four hours of screen timerdquo said lead researcher Nagahide Takahashi of Nagoya University in JapanldquoScreen time may be an early sign of ASD rather than a cause as children with ASD are often more attracted to objects than people Physicians should know that it is not fair to conclude that prolonged screen time is a risk factor for the development of ASDrdquo Takahashi saidResearchers examined 65 million polymorphisms referring to the presence of two or more variant forms of a specific DNA sequence that can occur among different individuals or populations in 437 childrenrsquos DNA to determine genetic susceptibility to ASD and ADHDNext they calculated a genetic risk index that considers the number and size of the effects of changes in genes associated with ASDADHD This is known as a polygenic risk scorerdquoThe researchers then compared it with the amount of time spent using screens devices among a sample of children aged 18 32 and 40 monthsTakahashi also warned against overexposing children with ADHD to device screensldquoOur results suggest that children at risk of ADHD are at risk of having too much screen time especially since gaming addiction is common As screen time tends to be longer for children who are particularly susceptible to ADHD parents and caregivers should be cautious about it and make a commitment before it becomes a problemrdquo he notedThese results may also help parents devise better childrearing strategiesldquoParents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders may feel guilty or be criticised by others for allowing their children screen timerdquo Takahashi saidldquoHowever we would recommend offering help to caregivers including offering alternative behavioural management strategiesrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever