Effect of mobile phone addiction on hand disorder, eye health, fatıgue and cognitive failures

The excessive use of mobile phones in daily life has led to increasing concerns about mobile phone addiction and its potential health effects. Since university students use mobile phones extensively for academic and social purposes, it is important to investigate the health effects of mobile phone addiction in this population. This study aims to investigate the effects of mobile phone addiction on cognitive performance, eye health, hand comfort, and fatigue in university students and to highlight the risks.

This cross-sectional study involved 293 university students who were selected based on inclusion criteria. Students' mobile phone addiction status was assessed via the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV). The students were divided into two groups according to the cutoff values given in the study: the "addicted group(n:142) (SAS-SV value male > 31, female > 33)", consisting of those determined to have mobile phone addiction, and the "control group (n:151)", consisting of those nonaddictive tendencies. The Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS) for fatigue evaluation, the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) for cognitive status, the Cornell Hand Discomfort Questionnaire (CHDQ) for hand discomfort, and the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) for eye dryness were used. Data were collected online via Google Forms following ethics committee approval.

The addicted group presented higher scores on the CFQ, indicating poorer cognitive performance(p < 0.001). Additionally, significant differences were observed in fatigue levels (p = 0.014), and eye health(p = 0.002). Notably, hand discomfort was significant in thumb, index, ring and middle fingers of the right hand (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in other regions of the hand (p > 0,05).

These findings underscore the adverse health effects associated with mobile phone addiction, highlighting the need for awareness and potential interventions among university students.