Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39627647›Full record

SynthesisJournal of autism and developmental disorders2026

Screen Time and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of Risk, Usage, and Addiction.

Guojing Yuan, Zhihui Zhu, Haiyun Guo, Huayu Yang, Jianghui Zhang, Kexin Zhang, Xueqing Zhang, Xiaoyan Lu, Jun Du, Haiyan Shi and 5 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. The Impact of Social Media & Technology on Child and Adolescent Mental Health.Journal of psychiatry and psychiatric disorders · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Guojing Yuan *Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Zhihui Zhu *Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Haiyun Guo *Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Huayu YangDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Jianghui ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Kexin ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Xueqing ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Xiaoyan LuDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Jun DuDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Haiyan ShiDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Guifang JinDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Jiahu HaoDepartment of Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Ying SunDepartment of Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Puyu SuDepartment of Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China.
Zhihua ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China. zhangzh@ahmu.edu.cn.

Funding

The National Natural Science Foundation of China 81973064
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and screen time (ST) has been extensively studied; but the evidence remains inconsistent, and a comprehensive quantitative synthesis of this association is lacking. This study aims to provide a robust quantitative assessment of the relationship between ASD and ST by consolidating and analyzing available evidence to offer a more precise understanding of this complex association. This systematic review followed PRISMA 2020 statement, and applied a quality assessment tool for quantitative studies to identity best available evidence. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus, covering literature published from January 1, 2006 to June 12, 2024. In total, 30 studies involving 356,666 participants met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed a significant association between screen exposure in preschool children and the development of ASD, with a longer duration of screen exposure correlating with an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with autism. Furthermore, autistic people tend to have longer daily screen use and are at a higher risk of screen addiction compared to non-autistic individuals. These findings emphasize the importance of limiting ST for preschoolers and autistic people. However, the level of evidence supporting these conclusions is very low. Future studies should focus on controlling for confounding factors, using more objective measures, and further investigate the relationship between screen engagement styles (active or passive), screen use patterns (screen devices and content), and ASD.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderBehavior, AddictiveScreen TimeChildChild, PreschoolHumansRisk FactorsAutism spectrum disorderInternet addictionInternet gaming addictionScreen timeSmartphone addiction

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.