Prevalence of smartphone addiction among Asian medical students: A meta-analysis of multinational observational studies

BACKGROUND: High prevalence of smartphone addiction among medical students may contribute to adverse physical and mental health outcomes. AIM: To estimate the prevalence of smartphone addiction, and explore the influencing factors and related mental health symptoms of smartphone addiction among Asian medical students. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed (MEDLINE), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE were searched for relevant literature from the inception to September 10, 2021. Using Stata software 11.0, the meta-analysis of prevalence and the influencing factors of smartphone addiction were determined with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: = .30-.40), anxiety, depression, neuroticism, and general health among Asian medical students. CONCLUSION: Smartphone addiction is highly prevalent among Asian medical students. Smartphone addiction may adversely affect mental health, resulting in sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety, depression, and neuroticism. It is necessary to take appropriate precautionary actions and interventions to prevent smartphone overuse among medical students.