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Every hour a child spends playing video games each day raises risk of OCD by 13%, study claims

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Every hour a child spends playing video games or watching YouTube videos each day raises their risk of OCD by up to 13%, study claims

  • Scientists in California said ‘loss of control’ from games drove OCD
  • Participants were aged between 11 and 12 years old by the end of the study
  • This is just the latest paper to highlight the risks of video games for children 

By Luke Andrews Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: | Updated:

Every hour a child spends playing video games per day raises their risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by 13 percent, a study suggests.

There was also a correlation between watching YouTube content and OCD – with every hour spent streaming videos associated with an 11 percent raised risk.

Too much screen time in childhood has been linked from everything to eating disorders, mental health problems and gambling addiction in later life

Yet, unlike other studies, the latest research found no association between watching films or movies or playing on cell phones. The researchers blamed YouTube algorithms and addictive video game content for fostering compulsive feelings in preteens.

For every hour a child spends playing video games or streaming videos, their risk of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, rises by more than 10 percent (file photo)

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, recruited 9,204 children aged nine to 10.

At the start of the study, each was surveyed on how long they spent gaming and watching TV.

Two years later, their parents or guardians were called back and asked whether their child had been diagnosed with OCD or showed symptoms in line with the condition.

The researchers found that youngsters spent an average of three hours and 54 minutes looking at screens every day.

This excluded time spent on devices at schools for educational purposes.

At follow-up, it was revealed that 405 children (4.4 percent) had been diagnosed with OCD.

Analysis showed children who spent longer on video games or streaming videos were more likely to receive the diagnosis.

Texting, video chatting and time spent on social media were not linked to a higher risk, but the scientists warned this may have been because youngsters in this age group do not use them often. The results may be different with older teens, the researchers said.

Dr Jason Nagata, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study, said: ‘Although screen time can have important benefits such as education and increased socialization, parents should be aware of the potential risks, especially to mental health.

‘Children who spend excessive time playing video games report feeling the need to play more and more and being unable to stop despite trying.

‘Intrusive thoughts about video game content could develop into obsessions or compulsions. 

He added: ‘Screen addictions are associated with compulsivity and loss of behavioral control, which are core symptoms of OCD.’

To mitigate risks linked to screen time, families should make a ‘media plan,’ where they set up rules and limits, the researchers suggested. 

‘Although screen time can have important benefits such as education and increased socialization, parents should be aware of the potential risks, especially to mental health,’ says Nagata in the press release. 

‘Families can develop a media use plan which could include screen-free times including before bedtime.’ 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends children spend no longer than one to two hours in front of screens every day.

But current estimates suggest under-18s spend four hours and six minutes playing video games, watching TV and on social media daily — an hour and 20 minutes more than before the Covid pandemic.

OCD is a mental health condition affecting around 2.5million American adults which is normally diagnosed before turning 18 years old.

Symptoms include having repetitive unwanted or unpleasant thoughts.

Those with the condition may also develop compulsive behavior — a physical action or something mental — which they do over and over to try to relieve the obsessive thoughts.

Patients are diagnosed after a thorough mental health assessment with doctors. Treatment includes behavioral therapy and medication.

The study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. 

What is obsessive compulsive disorder? 

Obsessive compulsive disorder, usually known as OCD, is a common mental health condition which makes people obsess over thoughts and develop behavior they struggle to control.

It can affect anyone at any age but normally develops during young adulthood.

It can cause people to have repetitive unwanted or unpleasant thoughts.

People may also develop compulsive behavior – a physical action or something mental – which they do over and over to try to relieve the obsessive thoughts.

The condition can be controlled and treatment usually involves psychological therapy or medication.  

It is not known why OCD occurs but risk factors include a family history of the condition, certain differences in brain chemicals, or big life events like childbirth or bereavement. 

People who are naturally tidy, methodical or anxious are also more likely to develop it.

About 2.5million Americans, and three-quarters of a million Britons have the condition, estimates suggest.

Source: NHS 

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Implant may reduce OCD symptoms with electrical pulses

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“Deep brain stimulation,” or DBS, can offer significant relief to as many as two-thirds of patients with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, a new study found. Photo by Raman Oza/Pixabay

When traditional treatments fail to help patients with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an implant that zaps the brain with electrical pulses just might, a new research review shows.

It found that the remedy — known as “deep brain stimulation,” or DBS — can offer significant relief to as many as two-thirds of such patients. On average, it can reduce OCD-triggered symptoms by nearly half, the review found.

“[OCD involves] intrusive and bothersome thoughts that the individual cannot silence, and compulsions that are repetitive, ritualistic behaviors performed to reduce the anxiety produced by the compulsions,” said study author Dr. Sameer Sheth. He is an associate professor of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

An estimated 3% of the global population is thought to be affected. For those with severe OCD that is uncontrolled, the symptoms can be “all-consuming,” Sheth said. Examples of OCD include repeated handwashing, ordering and arranging, repeating words in one’s head, and checking and double-checking.

“They can prevent the person from being able to perform other necessary activities of life, and therefore be extremely disabling,” Sheth said. “Some people cannot leave their room or home because of the cleaning rituals that would be necessary to re-enter, or cannot interact with others because of incessant taboo thoughts.”

The good news is that a combination of behavioral therapy and standard antidepressants — such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) — help many individuals.

The bad news: “About 10% to 20% do not respond” to those treatments, Sheth said.

Enter DBS, a pacemaker-like system, for the brain.

“Like a pacemaker, it consists of a stimulator typically implanted under the skin in the upper chest, and connected to a wire (electrode),” he said. “The electrode is implanted in specific regions in the brain,” including those involved in decision making and balancing emotions.

The aim is that by restoring activity in these areas to a more balanced state, DBS settles the symptoms of OCD.

But does it work?

To find out, Sheth’s team reviewed the findings of 31 studies conducted between 2005 and 2021.

Collectively, the studies included 345 adult OCD patients, at an average age of 40. All had struggled with a severe-to-extreme form of OCD that had not responded to standard treatments.

On average, participants had spent nearly 25 years battling crippling OCD symptoms. Many also suffered from depression, anxiety and/or personality disorders.

The review showed that after an average treatment period of about two years, DBS had yielded notable symptom improvements in two-thirds of the patients. On average, symptoms eased 47%, the researchers reported.

Significant depression relief was also attributed to DBS treatment. The studies found it eliminated the issue in half of patients for whom it had been a concern.

The studies found downsides to DBS therapy, as well.

About one in five patients experienced at least one serious side effect of DBS, the review found. These can include an increased risk for seizures, suicide attempts, stroke, and new OCD symptoms linked to DBS itself.

Still, Sheth stressed that the upside is hard to ignore, noting that the level of symptom relief linked to DBS “usually allows people to function again,” at school, at work and in relationships.

“Patients almost never get worse,” he added, “so there is actually little risk of DBS for appropriately selected patients.”

Sheth’s takeaway: “DBS for OCD is an effective and safe treatment, as we have now shown with rigorous analysis of hundreds of patients across several countries.” With time, DBS is likely to become even more effective, as “consistency in improvement will increase,” he added.

Two experts who were not involved with the study largely agree.

“Since the [DBS] electrodes are implanted in the brain regions contributing to OCD, it is not a surprise that it works,” said Dr. Gopalkumar Rakesh, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, in Lexington.

What’s needed now, Rakesh said, is the adoption of a “precision-medicine approach” to DBS use, so that doctors and scientists are better at predicting what makes a person with OCD respond well to it.

Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, president and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation in New York City, echoed that thought.

“Even though it’s not a brand-new therapy, DBS really is in the more-research-needed stage of development,” Borenstein said. “So I would say that the results of this study point to the need for even more research, in order to determine which patients would be more likely to benefit, and to really fine-tune that treatment so as to have the greatest benefit.”

The research review was published online Tuesday in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

More information

There’s more about deep brain stimulation for OCD at Mount Sinai.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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2 signs your kid has OCD, according to a child psychologist

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The term “OCD” is often wrongly diagnosed to someone who has a strict morning routine or keeps an organized desk.

Having OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder, has little to do with your cleaning habits or lack of flexibility and more to do with your ability to handle unpleasant thoughts, says Irina Gorelik, a child psychologist at Williamsburg Therapy Group.

“If any of us get a thought that’s disturbing, we could potentially move on from it,” she says. “But for someone with OCD, it causes a really distressing response and so they want to do a behavior that makes the thought go away.”

Think of the disorder in two parts, Gorelik says:

  1. Obsession: intrusive thoughts, urges, or images, that cause distress and are unwanted 
  2. Compulsion: the behavior that is used to reduce the level of distress brought on by the obsession 

In children, it’s usually easy to diagnose, she says, because it presents in noticeable ways.

Here are two signs your child might have OCD and tips for how to support them.

2 signs your child has OCD

They need reassurance about their safety and yours

Your child might repeatedly ask you if they are going to be okay, even if they are not going to be in any obvious or immediate danger. The same goes for their loved ones.

“I’ve had patients who’ve worried that something bad might happen to their family, so the compulsion is to check in on their family repeatedly,” she says. “They might say ‘I love you’ but not in a normal way, in a way that feels like they need to say it.”

Some other symptoms to look out for include:

  • A fear of germs and compulsive hand washing
  • Constant worry about getting sick
  • Excessive clinginess. For example, they don’t want to go to a sleepover because they think something might happen to you or them if you aren’t together

They need reassurance they haven’t hurt anyone

Just like how a child with OCD might worry about themselves or their family being hurt, they might also worry that they’ve hurt others.

Some specific symptoms might include:

  • Confessing a bad thought, like a curse word or about hurting someone.
  • Asking “Do you still love me?” repeatedly

I’ve had patients who’ve worried that something bad might happen to their family, so the compulsion is to check in on their family repeatedly.

Irina Gorelik

Child Psychologist

Some parents actually feed OCD anxiety

For diagnosis, Gorelik says these obsessions and compulsions are typically time-consuming. They might take up an hour or more a day.

The compulsion acts as a “band aid” over the obsession, Gorelik says. And as a parent, you might want to comfort your child.

“It might come naturally to parents to reassure your kids and say, ‘you’re not hurt. No one is hurting you,’ but that’s actually feeding the anxiety,” she says.

It would be more helpful to tell your child that being worried is normal and that you can sit with that worry and choose not to engage in a compulsion.

For example, having the thought that your parents might be in danger is obviously anxiety-producing. But, that doesn’t mean you have to call your parents every 10 minutes. Let the feeling pass.

“Learn to sit with the thoughts and tolerate the thoughts, she says.

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