A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies on screen time and the risk of depression in adolescents

The effects of screen time on depression have always been a bone of contention. This meta-analysis aimed to determine whether increased screen time is associated with an increased risk of depression in adolescents. Prospective cohort studies were identified from searches of five databases from inception to May 2024: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus. We included nine prospective cohort studies on screen time and the risk of depression in adolescents. A random-effects meta-analysis was adopted to calculate the odds ratio (OR, 95 % confidence interval; CI). Overall, baseline screen time had a significant effect on the incidence of depression at follow-up (OR = 1.20, 95 % CI: 1.12–1.28, I² = 81.0 %). Compared with >3 h/ day of screen time in the exposure group, >2 h/ day of screen time in the exposure group had a more significant effect on the incidence of depression at follow-up. We recommend that screen time for adolescents should meet the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics. According to the deficiencies in the current research, future research should conduct high-quality longitudinal in-depth research on the relationship between different screen types, screen content, screen forms, and the risk of depression in adolescents, to better guide the rational use of electronic screens.