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Prevalence of Smartphone Addiction in Patients with Depression and Its Association with Depression Severity: a Cross-sectional Study

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Abstract

Advancement in smartphone technology has brought about a steady rise in the global mobile phone usage. Smartphone addiction has been widely studied among adolescent and adult population, and little is known regarding its impact on patients who are diagnosed with major depressive disorder. This study examined the prevalence of smartphone addiction among depressed patients and the association between smartphone addiction and the severity of depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 patients who were diagnosed with major depressive disorder in the psychiatry department of University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Smartphone addiction was assessed with the smartphone addiction scale (SAS). The severity of depression was assessed using the clinician-rated Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). The prevalence of smartphone addiction was 58.6% (n = 82). This study found that (a) participants who spent more time on their smartphones were found to be at higher risk for smartphone addiction “overuse” subscale (p < 0.01) and (b) smartphone addiction was not associated with the severity of depression. This study highlights the need for more studies in this field of research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Poh Khuen Lim, Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin & Anne Yee

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Ministry of Health, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Jalan Sultan Mahmud, 20300, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

    Poh Khuen Lim

  3. University Malaya Centre of Addiction Sciences (UMCAS), Universiti Malaya, Jalan Pantai Baharu, 59200, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin & Anne Yee

  4. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Jalan Universiti, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Seng Beng Tan

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  1. Poh Khuen Lim
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  2. Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin
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  3. Anne Yee
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  4. Seng Beng Tan
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Correspondence to Poh Khuen Lim.

Ethics declarations

This study was approved by the Medical Research Ethics Committee, University of Malaya (MREC ID No: 201866–6365) in July 2018. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This study was supported by The University of Malaya under the Wellness Research Centre (WRC) research grant GC004B-HTM. The funders played no role in study design; collection, analysis and interpretation of data; writing of the report; and the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Lim, P., Amer Nordin, A., Yee, A. et al. Prevalence of Smartphone Addiction in Patients with Depression and Its Association with Depression Severity: a Cross-sectional Study. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 919–933 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00203-0

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