Cross-Sectional Associations of Screen Time Activities With Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption Among Brazilian Adolescents

Priscila Cristina Dos Santos; Bruno Gonçalves Galdino da Costa; Marcus Vinicius Veber Lopes; Luís Eduardo Argenta Malheiros; Lauren Arundell; Kelly Samara da Silva

doi:10.3389/ijph.2023.1605816

Cross-Sectional Associations of Screen Time Activities With Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption Among Brazilian Adolescents

Int J Public Health. 2023 Jul 13:68:1605816. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1605816. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Priscila Cristina Dos Santos¹, Bruno Gonçalves Galdino da Costa², Marcus Vinicius Veber Lopes¹, Luís Eduardo Argenta Malheiros¹, Lauren Arundell³, Kelly Samara da Silva¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil.
² School of Physical and Health Education, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada.
³ Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

Objectives: Little is known about the association between specific types of screen time and adolescents' substance use. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the associations between screen time for studying, working, watching movies, playing games, and using social media and frequency of alcohol and tobacco use. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, Brazilian adolescents answered survey questions related to frequency of tobacco and alcohol consumption, and reported their daily volume of five types of screen time. Multilevel ordered logistic regression models were performed. Results: Each 1-hour increase in ST for studying was associated with 26% lower odds of smoking (OR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.61-0.90) and 17% lower odds of drinking alcohol (OR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.76-0.91) in the past 30 days. The increase of 1 hour of social media use was associated with 10% greater odds of smoking (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02-1.18) and a 13% greater chance of consuming alcohol (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.08-1.18) in the past 30 days. Conclusion: The association between screen time and substance use appears to be type-specific. Future longitudinal research is needed to explore causal relationships.

Keywords: alcohol drinking; cross-sectional study; screen time; smoking; youth.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior*
Alcohol Drinking / epidemiology
Brazil / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Screen Time
Substance-Related Disorders*
Tobacco Use / epidemiology

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Grant number 406258/2018-0) and scholarships were awarded by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel. LA is supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE220100847).