Heavy social media use linked to depression in young teens, new study shows NEWS 4 January 2019 Adolescents using social media for three hours or more a day are more likely to show signs of depression at age 14, compared to their peers who use it less often. Researchers from University College London (UCL) analysed information on nearly 11,000 young people born in the UK at the turn of the century who are taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study. At age 14, the teens were asked questions about their mental health, and were also asked to report on their social media use, experience of cyberbullying, sleep patterns, self-esteem and body image. The findings revealed that the link between excessive social media use and depression could be partly explained by the fact that teens who used it heavily were more likely to have disrupted sleep and tended to experience cyberbullying. Heavy social media use and cyberbullying also appeared to lower their self-esteem and satisfaction with their body image. Girls who were heavy users of social media tended to have greater depressive symptoms than boys. Girls who logged in for three to five hours a day experienced a 26 per cent increase in depressive symptoms while boys had a 21 per cent rise, compared to those who used social media for one to three hours a day. However, when the researchers took into account reports of cyberbullying, sleep patterns, self-esteem and body image these increased symptoms partly diminished. Once cyberbullying was considered, girls who were heavy social media users saw their depressive symptoms fall by 9 per cent, while boys’ symptoms fell by 5 per cent. After sleeping patterns were taken into account, girls’ symptoms dropped by 8 per cent and boys’ were reduced by 7 per cent. Once self-esteem was accounted for girls’ increased symptoms dropped by 6 per cent and boys’ by 3 per cent. And, when body image was considered, girls’ symptoms decreased by 9 per cent and boys’ by 4 per cent. The researchers found that 14-year-old girls were heavier users of social media, with more than two fifths (43%) of them using it for more than three hours per day compared with one fifth (21%) of boys. Two fifths (40%) of girls and a quarter (25%) of boys had reported cyberbullying and two fifths (40%) of girls compared to almost a third (28%) of boys said their sleep was often disrupted. Professor Yvonne Kelly, the lead author, explained: “These findings are highly relevant to current policy development on guidelines for the safe use of social media and calls on industry to more tightly regulate hours of social media use for young people. Clinical, educational and family settings are all potential points of contact where young people could be encouraged and supported to reflect not only on their social media use, but also other aspects of their lives including on-line experiences and their sleep patterns. “At home, families may want to reflect on when and where it’s ok to be on social media and agree limits for time spent online. Curfews for use and the overnight removal of mobile devices from bedrooms might also be something to consider.” Shirley Cramer, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) commented: “This important new research confirms that we need to increase awareness and understanding amongst parents, schools and policy makers about the role of social media in our young people’s mental health, particularly taking into account the increased risks for girls.” Further information The research was featured in national newspapers, including The Guardian and Daily Mail ‘Social media use and adolescent mental health: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study’ by Kelly, Y, Zilanawala A, Booker C, Sacker A, is published in the EClinicalMedicine journal.   Back to news listing

Category: Family Medicine | WebScout Back to Health News Health Highlights: Jan. 4, 2019 Last Updated: January 04, 2019. Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay: Swedish Hospital Patient Might Have Ebola An unidentified hospital patient who recently returned to Sweden after three weeks in the East African country of Burundi is being checked for possible Ebola illness, local health authorities said. The patient was cared for at a hospital in Enkoping, about 50 miles from Stockholm, before being transferred to a hospital in Uppsala early on Friday, CNN reported. The patient is now in isolation, the wire service reported. Mikael Kohler, chief medical officer for the Uppsala region, said the patient visited "mostly urban areas in Burundi, where there isn't thought to be any active Ebola as far as we know." However, upon arrival at the hospital in Enkoping the patient displayed symptoms of Ebola infection, including vomiting blood, Kohler said. Test results are expected by 12 p.m. ET, he added. The emergency room where the patient was cared for has been closed, and any staff who had contact with the patient are being monitored, officials said. Ebola is caused by a virus and can cause fever, hemorrhaging and severe headaches. It is fatal in about half of cases. There's an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which borders Burundi, with case numbers topping 600 by Wednesday, CNN reported. The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014 in West Africa and claimed more than 11,000 lives. In related news, Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha is currently monitoring an American who was potentially exposed to Ebola whole providing medical assistance in the Congo, CNN said. In a Dec. 29 statement, Dr. Ted Cieslak, an infectious disease specialist at the medical center, said "the person may have been exposed to the virus but is not ill and is not contagious." ----- Social Media Tied to Depression in Teens, Especially Girls Using social media for five hours or more per day is tied to a big jump in risk for depression among 14-year-olds, and especially for girls, a new British study shows. As compared to girls who spent just one to three hours daily on social media, girls who spent five or more hours on Snapchat, Instagram and the like had 50 percent higher odds for depressive symptoms, says a team from University College London. The number was somewhat less for boys -- a 35 percent hike in risk for boys who used social media five-plus hours per day. "We were quite surprised when we saw the figures and we saw those raw percentages: the fact that the magnitude of association was so much larger for girls than for boys," study author Yvonne Kelly, a professor of epidemiology and public health at the university, told CNN. The researchers stressed that the study couldn't prove that excessive social media use caused depressive symptoms, only that there was an association. Depressive symptoms included feelings of loneliness, unhappiness or restlessness. The researchers looked at data from a national study that included nearly 11,000 British 14-year-olds born between 2000 and 2002. The data showed that girls were typically on social media more than boys: about 43 percent of girls used social media three or more hours per day, compared to about 22 percent of boys. "For both girls and boys, the more social media they use, the more likely they are to have mental health problems, but not that many studies have been able to look for the explanations why," Kelly told CNN. "We looked at four potential explanations simultaneously, and this is the first paper to do that. We looked at sleeping habits; experiences online, so cyberbullying; how they thought about their bodies, or their body image, and whether they were happy with how they looked; and their self-esteem," she explained. "All of those four things -- the sleep, the cyberharassment, the body image or happiness with appearance, and the self-esteem -- they are all linked with the risk of having depression," Kelly said. She noted that girls tend to gravitate towards Instagram and Snapchat. Those platforms are "more based around physical appearance, taking photographs and commenting on those photographs," she said, so the stronger link between social media and depression in girls may have "to do with the nature of use." The findings were published Jan. 3 in EClinicalMedicine. Previous: Catching Up on News About Catch-Up Sleep Next: 1 in 10 Adults Have Food Allergies, But Twice as Many Think They Do Reader comments on this article are listed below. Review our comments policy. Submit your opinion: You must be logged in to post a comment. Please log-in. Not a member? Please register. Have you forgotten your password?