Mobile Media Device Use is Associated with Expressive Language Delay in 18-Month-Old Children.
Meta van den Heuvel, Julia Ma, Cornelia M Borkhoff and 5 others
PMID 30753173WHAT IT FOUND
Each additional 30-minute increase in daily mobile media device use was associated with parent-reported expressive speech delay in 18-month-olds.
No association was seen for other communication delays.
Key findings
01Among children who used mobile devices, greater daily use was associated with parent-reported expressive speech delay in all models. In the fully adjusted model, each additional 30-minute increase was associated with expressive speech delay (OR 2.33; 95% CI, 1.25-4.82).
02No association was observed between mobile media device use and other parent-reported communication delays in the fully adjusted model (OR 1.01; 95% CI, 0.33-2.49).
03Most children had no reported daily mobile media device use (693 children, 77.6%), and the 200 children who used devices had a median daily use of 15.71 minutes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that mobile media device use caused expressive speech delay. Outcomes came from parent-reported screening concern, not a definitive diagnosis of expressive speech delay. Parent reports of screen time may be affected by recall or social desirability bias. The sample was mostly high-income, non-English-speaking families were excluded, and selection bias cannot be ruled out. The study did not measure device content, activity type, or parent-child interaction during use. Passive watching may have been missed because parents were asked about time spent playing with devices. Confidence intervals were wide, so the estimate is imprecise.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The article is listed as supported by non-U.S. government research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that mobile devices cause expressive speech delay. This was a cross-sectional study using parent-reported screening scores, so it shows association only and does not establish cause.