Screen time and low back pain in children and adolescents: a systematic review of Brazilian studies

Abstract

Objective: To identify and summarize the possible associations between screen time and low back pain in children and adolescents. Data source: Systematic searches were performed in five electronic databases (Lilacs, Scielo, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science) on 01/25/2021, complemented by manual searches in reference lists and on Google Scholar, looking for original scientific articles that included Brazilian observational studies; whose samples had children and/or adolescents aged between 6 and 19 years, without specific clinical conditions, and that presented analyses of associations between indicators of screen time and nonspecific low back pain, based on regression models. Data synthesis: Nine cross-sectional studies whose samples had adolescents were included. Of the 18 analyses identified, nine reported risk relationships between the variables of interest. More specifically, risk associations were found in two studies that evaluated adolescents exposed to at least three hours using cell phone or tablet, and watching television per day. Also, instruments, cut-off points adopted, and screen equipment evaluated were diverse. Conclusions: Even though most of the risk associations were borderline from the statistical point of view, we found a higher frequency of risk associations between screen time and nonspecific low back pain in adolescents exposed to screen time for at least three hours a day. In addition, further longitudinal studies with samples composed of children should be conducted across the country.