Association of Iron Deficiency with Electronic Gaming Addiction and Low Health Influencing School Performance

Abstract

Background: Anemia does not only have a deleterious effect on the physical growth of children but also impairs mental development and slows down memory, cognitive functioning, and academic performance. The study aimed to assess the association between video gaming, iron deficiency anemia and school performance in children 5-16 years of age.

 Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 306 children 5-16 years of age between grades 1 and 10 in various schools in Sikandarabad for one academic year. The iron deficiency, screen time along with past health records were noted. School assessments were analyzed for academic achievements, and class concentration and Intelligent Quotient (IQ) tests were done multiple times. Hemoglobin was checked to establish an association with learning difficulties. Multivariate logistic regression was done to see the association of electronic gaming with academic performance. p-value <0.001 was considered significant.

Results: Mean age of children was 11.73+1.8 years. Mean hemoglobin was 12.3+1.2g/dl. Children with iron deficiency had a poor concentration in class (p<0.001) and achieved below-average assessment results (p<0.001). Also, anemic children participated less in extra-curricular activities (p=0.004). Children who played excessive video games, 63.2%, had (p<0.001) lower IQ in comparison to the ones exposed to less screen time. Moreover, kids who scored less than average grades in school had also shown to have low IQ (p<0.001) with statistically significant results.

Conclusion: Excessive video gaming was associated (p<0.001) with anemia and low IQ in this study. Anemic children participated less in extracurricular activities and were shown to have poor scholastic performance.

Keywords: Iron Deficiency Anemia, Academic Performance, IQ (Intelligent Quotient).