People who reported spending six or more hours on screens outside of school or work had worse blood pressure, cholesterol, and body mass index (BMI) than those with more limited screen time, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Sessions (ACC.26).
Screen time was independently associated with these markers of cardiovascular risk, even after accounting for differences in daily physical activity. Researchers say the findings point to excessive time spent playing video games, watching videos and scrolling through social media as a new risk factor among young people, and suggest that clinicians can assess screen use as an early indicator that a patient may be on track to develop heart disease.
Traditionally, lifestyle counseling has primarily focused on encouraging physical activity, but our findings suggest that reducing excessive screen exposure may be an additional independent intervention goal. This could lead to more nuanced counseling that not only promotes physical activity, but also addresses digital behavioral patterns, digital wellness, and structural limitations on prolonged screen use. ”
Dr. Zain Islam, cardiologist at Liaquat University of Medicine and Health Sciences and Taki Medical Center, Hyderabad, Pakistan, and lead author of the study
Researchers analyzed heart health markers and daily habits of 382 adults, with an average age of approximately 35 years, living in two Pakistani cities, Hyderabad and Karachi. South Asians have a disproportionately higher burden of early-onset cardiovascular disease at younger ages than Western populations. Screen use among young people in Pakistan and other countries in the region is also increasing due to rapid urbanization and the introduction of digital technology at home and work. According to the researchers, this study is the first to examine how these lifestyle changes affect heart health, particularly in South Asia, and one of the first to focus on screen time as a specific risk factor.
“What makes this study unique is that it looks at screen time as a specific, measurable digital behavior, rather than just broadly labeling people as sedentary,” Islam said. “Although sedentary lifestyles have been studied before, few studies have differentiated between screen exposure and general physical inactivity or investigated how these two factors interact.”
Based on a questionnaire, researchers grouped participants according to screen habits (more than or less than 6 hours of screen time per day outside of school or work) and physical activity levels (more than or less than 150 minutes of exercise per week). After adjusting for age, gender, and baseline clinical characteristics, people who used screens for six or more hours a day had, on average, approximately 18 mmHg higher systolic blood pressure, more than 28 mg/dL higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and more than 3.9 mg/dL lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol than those who used screens for less than six hours a day. Additionally, these participants had significantly higher BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-waist-height ratio. Increased screen time was also associated with increased smoking and vaping, with more than a quarter of these participants reporting nicotine use, compared to 12% of participants with less screen exposure.
Although these relationships were independent of physical activity levels, the researchers also found a synergistic effect between screen use and exercise. The combination of high screen time and low physical activity has a greater negative impact on blood pressure and BMI than either factor alone. “In other words, these actions not only increase risk on their own, but appear to amplify each other’s risks when they occur together,” Islam said.
Based on the findings, Dr. Islam said clinicians need to incorporate screen time alongside traditional lifestyle factors to assess patients’ cardiovascular risk and develop customized interventions that promote both physical activity and healthier screen habits.
The researchers said the study did not prove causation because it was an observational study. Additionally, screen time is self-reported, and assessments may not consistently distinguish between work-related and recreational use. Additional factors such as diet, sleep, and stress may also play a role in the observed association.
Professor Islam said it was important to continue to study behaviors such as screen use in specific populations because cultural, environmental and socio-economic factors differ around the world, so findings in one country or region may not be replicated elsewhere. He said future studies could include larger multicenter cohorts, objective digital tracking tools rather than self-report, and long-term follow-up to assess hard cardiovascular outcomes. Intervention studies testing whether reducing screen time improves cardiometabolic markers would also be an important next step.
Islam will present his study titled “Association of Screen Time, Physical Inactivity, and Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Young Adults: A Prospective Observational Study” on Saturday, March 28 at 2:00 PM CT/2:00 PM Universal Time in a poster in Hall E.
sauce:
American College of Cardiology
