Screen Time Is Associated With Cardiometabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Childhood and Adolescence

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Cardiovascular Health
• Metabolomics

Background:

• Screen time is a growing concern for child and adolescent health.
• Potential links between screen time and cardiometabolic/cardiovascular risk factors are under investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between screen time and cardiometabolic/cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents.
• To explore the moderating role of lifestyle factors, including sleep duration, on these associations.
• To identify a metabolic signature associated with screen time.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from over 1000 participants in the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) cohorts.
• Assessment of discretionary screen time against a composite cardiometabolic risk score and predicted cardiovascular risk.
• Evaluation of lifestyle factors (sleep, physical activity, diet, puberty) as moderators.
• Application of supervised machine learning to blood metabolomics data to identify a screen-time signature.

Main Results:

• Each additional hour of screen time correlated with increased cardiometabolic risk in both children and adolescents.
• Shorter sleep duration significantly amplified the association between screen time and cardiometabolic risk.
• Screen time was also linked to higher predicted cardiovascular risk in adolescents.
• A screen time-associated metabolomic signature was identified and validated across age groups.

Conclusions:

• Screen time is positively associated with cardiometabolic and cardiovascular risk in young individuals.
• The negative impact of screen time is exacerbated by insufficient sleep duration.
• Joint consideration of screen time and sleep is vital for assessing and mitigating early-life cardiometabolic and cardiovascular risks.