Journal Article

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

Rashaduzzaman, Md, Islam, Mohammad Jahirul, Akter, Rahemun, Rahman, Md Saifur, Samuel, Asir John, Ahmed, Sohel, Mishra, Arushi, Roy, Shankar Kumar, Islam, Md. Ariful

2024

Overview

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. 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. 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. 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.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Addictions / Addicts / Adolescent / Adult / Behavior, Addictive - epidemiology / Biology and Life Sciences / Care and treatment / Cellular telephones / Chi-square test / Computer & video games / Cross-Sectional Studies / Data analysis / Demographic variables / Demographics / Demography / Diagnosis / Discomfort / Drug addiction / Education / Electronic games / Esports / Female / Females / Health aspects / Humans / Internet / Male / Males / Medicine and Health Sciences / Musculoskeletal diseases / Musculoskeletal Pain - epidemiology / Pain / Physical therapy / Population / Posture / Questionnaires / Risk Factors / Sample size / Secondary education / Smart phones / Smartphones / Social aspects / Social Sciences / Sociodemographics / Statistical tests / Students / Surveys and Questionnaires / Teenagers / Video Games - adverse effects / Wrist / Young Adult / Youth