Assessing the Association Between Internet Addiction Disorder and Health Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is a global issue that has resulted in a slew of physical and emotional consequences. Studies have indicated that health risk behaviors might be the risk factors for IAD. The published literature on the correlation between the two is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive analysis to understand better the link between IAD and health risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults.

Methods: We searched ten electronic databases for relevant articles. Data were extracted based on IAD and health risk behaviors ( alcohol, smoking, suicidal, gambling and drug abuse). We calculated odds ratios (ORs), a pooled correlation coefficient (r) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A fixed-effect model was applied to summarize the pooled effects. Heterogeneity was examined using statistics and Cochran's Q statistics. All analyses were conducted by using Stata version 15.0.

Results: A total of 16 studies and 61,823 participants were included in this study. Meta-analysis showed that IAD was positively correlated with drinking ( = 0.35; 95% CI 0.32-0.37) and smoking ( = 0.12; 95%CI 0.10-0.15), and was associated with an increased risk of suicidal behavior (OR= 1.95; 95% CI 1.65-2.30), drinking (OR= 1.75; 95% CI 1.65-1.85), and smoking (OR= 1.63; 95% CI 1.54-1.72) among adolescents.

Conclusion: We found significantly increased risks of suicidal behavior, drinking, and smoking in adolescents and young adults with IAD. These findings are important to expand our understanding of IAD and have great guiding significance for preventing health risk behaviors of adolescents and young adults.

Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021257729, identifier: PROSPERO CRD42021257729.