Mobile game addiction and its association with musculoskeletal pain among students: A cross-sectional study.

Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science

Musculoskeletal Pain*/epidemiology ; Video Games*/adverse effects ; Students* ; Behavior, Addictive*/epidemiology; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Adolescent ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors

Background: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether there is a difference in musculoskeletal pain between those who are addicted to mobile games and those who are not, to ascertain the association between mobile game addiction and socio-demographic variables, and to ascertain the pain predictor for mobile game addiction on different musculoskeletal regions.
Methods: There were 840 students in all, both males and females, in this cross-sectional survey from three distinct Bangladeshi institutions. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire, the Gaming Addiction Scale, and the demographic data form were distributed to the participants. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and descriptive statistics. Binary logistic regression was used to find the predicted risk factor for mobile gaming addiction.
Results: Musculoskeletal pain affects 52.1% of participants in some part of the body. Males have a 2.01-fold higher likelihood of developing gaming addiction compared to females. Those who are addicted to mobile games experience a higher occurrence of pain in the neck, upper back, elbows, and wrist and hands with a odds ratio of (OR 2.84, 95% CI: 1.49-5.36; p = 0.016), (OR 3.75, 95% CI 1.97-7.12; p = <0.001), (OR 3.38, 95% CI 1.34-8.50; p = 0.010), and (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.00-4.57; p = 0.049) respectively.
Conclusion: These results demonstrate that mobile gaming addiction raises students' risk of musculoskeletal discomfort. Two-three times higher risk of developing pain in the neck, upper back, elbows, and wrist and hands among mobile game addicts.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Ahmed et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

J Int Med Res. 2019 Dec;47(12):6244-6253. (PMID: 31680593)
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2011 Oct;14(10):591-6. (PMID: 21342010)
J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2018 Sep;27(9):1629-1635. (PMID: 30054242)
Disabil Rehabil. 2016 Oct;38(21):2153-60. (PMID: 26726840)
ScientificWorldJournal. 2014;2014:874648. (PMID: 25032242)
Niger J Clin Pract. 2022 Feb;25(2):153-159. (PMID: 35170440)
Ups J Med Sci. 2015;120(4):263-75. (PMID: 26072677)
Sports Med Open. 2022 May 13;8(1):65. (PMID: 35553264)
Am J Mens Health. 2019 Jul-Aug;13(4):1557988319873512. (PMID: 31462143)
J Behav Addict. 2018 Mar 1;7(1):88-99. (PMID: 29313732)
PLoS One. 2018 Aug 30;13(8):e0203394. (PMID: 30161266)
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2022 Jul 16;23(1):678. (PMID: 35842605)
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2012 Mar 22;13:41. (PMID: 22439805)
J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Mar;27(3):575-9. (PMID: 25931684)
BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2020 Aug 28;6(1):000799. (PMID: 33585039)

Date Created: 20240826 Date Completed: 20240826 Latest Revision: 20240828

20240828

PMC11346919

10.1371/journal.pone.0308674

39186761