Using the multilayer perceptron approach to explore the relationship between PUBG gaming, sleep disorder, quality of...

Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), a popular and widely played multiplayer online game, has generated interest and concern about its effects on the physical health of its players. This study explores the relationship between factors like cultivation level, gaming disorder, migraine and associated symptoms, sleep quality, and life quality of PUBG players.

This cross-sectional study included 500 PUBG players, categorized into Lower, Medium, and High PUBG Users. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and a gaming disorder screening tool. The Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) methodology was applied to analyze the factors influencing migraine symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life.

Participants of the study were categorized into lower PUBG users (LPU), medium PUBG users (MPU), and high PUBG users (HPU). Among study participants reporting migraine pain, 259 (51.8%) reported that they were HPU. By examining daytime sleepiness using the ESS, Higher normal Day sleep (DS) was observed in 78 (15.9%) HPU. The cultivation level of PUBG showed a very weak positive correlation with experiencing migraine pain or associated headache symptoms (r = 0.034, p = 0.454). In contrast, the gaming disorder of PUBG showed a weak negative correlation with PSQI (r = -0.092, p = 0.041). The higher levels of gaming disorder are slightly associated with poorer sleep quality. The results of the MLP model suggested that daily PUBG use was the most contributing factor to migraine and related symptoms followed by gaming disorder, gaming addiction, PSQI, and ESS.

The study concluded that PUBG playing contributes to migraine and its associated symptoms although is not significant it contributes to less sleep quality and lower quality of life.