274064 A comparison of screen time among youth with developmental disabilities and those without special health care needs-Results of the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health

Monday, October 29, 2012

Charmaine Lo, MPH , Clinical and Population Health Research Program, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
Stephenie Lemon, PhD , Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
Background: Developmental disabilities affected 13.9% of US youth from 1997-2008. Youth with developmental disabilities experience higher rates of obesity. However, the association of developmental disabilities with screen time, an important obesity risk factor, has not been studied. Purpose: This study compared screen time behaviors between children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and those without special health care needs (SHCN). Methods: Data are from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (n=64,076 age 6-17; 30.3% children (6-11 years) and 39.6% adolescents (12-17 years); 48.8% female; 56.2% white). Four developmental disability groups were evaluated: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), developmental delay (DD), and learning disabilities (LD). Multivariate linear regression models, stratified by age group, compared screen time behaviors between youth with developmental disabilities and those without SHCN. Results: Average screen time was 142.3 (95%CI=138.4-146.3) minutes/day among children. Children with ADD (28.6 min/day; 95%CI=13.2-44.03), ASD (39.6 min/day; 95%CI=2.2-77.0), and LD (28.3 min/day (95%CI=12.4-44.1) had significantly more screen time than those without SHCN, with a trend toward greater screen time among those with DD (14.7min/day; 95%CI=-3.5-32.9). Average screen time increased to 199.8 (95%CI=195.9-203.8) min/day among adolescents. Among adolescents only ADD/ADHD (20.0 min/day; 95%CI=4.4-35.6) was associated with greater screen time compared to those without SHCN. Conclusions: Screen time behavior is universally high among youth. Children with developmental disabilities have greater participation in this risk behavior compared to children without SHCN. Interventions tailored for youth with developmental disabilities to reduce screen time are needed.

Learning Areas:
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1) Compare rates of screen time among children and adolescents with developmental disabilities with that of their peers without special health care needs.

Keywords: Children With Special Needs, Health Needs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and this study comprises part of my dissertation research. I was responsible for developing the research question, performing the data analysis, interpretation of the data, and drafting the abstract and text under the supervision of my mentor, Dr. Stephenie Lemon.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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