A study from Japan has shown that exposure to more screen time in boys at 1 year of age was tied to a higher likelihood of diagnosis of autism at 3 years of age.

In comparison with 1-year-old boys who spent no time on screens, those who spent 1 or more hours on their screens had two- to three-fold higher odds of being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), noted researchers, with an exposure of 1 to <2 hours tied to an OR of 2.16; 2 to <4 hours to an OR of 3.48; and ≥4 hours to an OR of 3.02. The association was not found among girls.

The study was conducted before the pandemic by the Japan Environment and Children′s Study Group. More than 90% of the children were exposed to some amount of screen time by 1 year of age. The study cohort included 84,030 mother-child dyads. At 3 years of age, 0.4% of the children had an ASD diagnosis, with 76% of them being boys. The findings are published in JAMA Pediatrics… (Medpage Today)