Effects of smartphone addiction on children’s lung function

Background: With an increase in smartphone usage, constant neck flexion can lead to improper posture, which may impact on lung function. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine and compare the craniovertebral angle (CVA) and lung function between addicted and non-addicted boys and girls aged between 8–13 years who use smartphones for long periods of time. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 24 boys and 26 girls (mean age 10.5 ± 1.6 years and body mass index 18.6 ± 3.0 kg/m²⁾. Participants were assigned to two groups based on their scores on the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) for Adolescents: addicted group (score > 32, n = 32) and non-addicted group (score ≤ 32, n = 18). The outcome variables were CVA, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), maximum inspiratory pressures (PImax), and maximum expiratory pressures (PEmax). Results: There was a significant difference in mean CVA between addicted and non-addicted boys (49.4 ± 6.7 vs 55.5 ± 7.6, η² = 0.9, P = 0.03) and girls (47.3 ± 6.3 vs 52.9 ± 6.1, η² = 0.9, P = 0.02). Mean FVC, FEV1, and FEV6 were significantly lower in addicted versus non-addicted boys (P = 0.04, P = 0.05, and P = 0.02, respectively). PImax was significantly less in addicted compared to non-addicted girls (55.2 ± 16.4 vs 65.3 ± 13.8, η² = 0.7, P = 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings showed that children addicted to smartphones (when using the SAS-SV as an indicator for addiction) revealed lower CVA and lung function results. Therefore, education on proper posture while holding smartphones is essential to the children’s postural and lung function status.