| Objective: The aim of this study was to describe children’s screen use and possible factors on children’s screen time based on data collected from a birth cohort,and to explore the relationship between screen time and cognitive development among preschoolers.Methods: This study was conducted based on a birth cohort in Kaifu District,Changsha,which used three community health service centers in Xinhe,Dongfeng Road,and Sifangping in Kaifu District,as study sites,and collected eligible live births from the study sites throughout 2015 as participants for follow-up investigations.The study was based on data from baseline and eight follow-up visits of the cohort study for analysis.A group-based trajectory model was used to identify potential groups of children aged 12-60 months in the study population with similar longitudinal trajectories of screen time across socio-demographic backgrounds and family parenting environments;generalized estimating equations and cross-lagged panel models were used to explore the relationships between screen time and cognitive development in preschoolaged children.Results:(1)The daily screen time for children in Kaifu District,Changsha,is0(QR: 0)hours/day at 12 months of age,0.5(QR: 0.7)hours/day at 18 months of age,0.9(QR: 0.9)hours/day at 24 months of age,1.0(QR: 1.5)hours/day at 36 months of age,1.0(QR: 1.2)hours/day at 42 months of age,1.0(QR: 1.0)hours/day at 48 months of age,and 0.9(QR: 0.9)hours/day at 54 months of age,and 1.2(QR: 1.7)hours/day at 60 months of age.Using a grouped-based trajectory model to analyze the trajectories of children’s screen time during 12-60 months,and the trajectories of screen time are divided into 3 groups with the following trajectory characteristics: children in trajectory group 1 tends to have steadily screen time;children in trajectory group 2 has the fastest growth in screen use from 12 to 36 months and their screen time decreases from 36 to 60 months;children in trajectory group 3 has the second highest growth lower than children in trajectory group 2 from 12 to 24 months of age,their screen time decreased in the 24-42 month,and their screen time grew fastest in the 42-60 month.Maternal exercise during pregnancy,father’s education levels and father’s role as primary caregiver when children were at 18,24 and 54 months of age were important factors influencing the change in children’s screen time.(2)unrestricted electronic device use in preschoolers was a risk factor in children’s fine motor(RR= 1.033,95%CI=1.009-1.057)and social skills(RR=1.028,95%CI=1.003-1.054)development;children watching noneducational videos was a risk factor for their problem solving skills(RR=1.032,95%CI=1.006-1.017)and social skills(RR=1.046,95%CI=1.005-1.090)development;the track 2 group of children’s screen trajectory was a risk factor for preschoolers’ social skills(RR=1.047,95%CI=1.018-1.077)compared to the track 1 group.There was a negative interaction between screen time and fine motor scores and social skill scores in preschool children.Conclusion: Children’s screen time increased with age in Kaifu District,Changsha.The fathers’ low education levels and the fathers reported more likely to involved in parenting as the primary caregiver when children were at 18 months,24 months,and 54 months,the more likely his child was to have a rapid increase in screen time trajectory group 2,which means the more likely the children’s screen time increased fast between 12 and 36 months of age.Non-educational videos are detrimental to preschoolers’ problem-solving and personal social skills development,so parents should reduce children’s viewing of non-educational videos. |
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