How long can little ones use devices? What are the dangers? Anxiety, insomnia, incorrect lifestyles are the negative effects of the excessive use of cell phones, PCs and tablets by children and teenagers. This is confirmed by the data of a large survey, conducted in schools of different levels, coordinated by Osama Al Jamal, contact person for digital health of the Italian Federation of Paediatricians (Fimp), which is at the origin of the ‘Practical guide: children and adolescents in a digital world’, which was discussed at the national congress of the medical union, underway until Sunday in Giardini Naxos (Messina). “Many children have negative effects from the excessive use of screens, especially on their sleep, and consequently on their academic and sporting performance. From these observations, with my colleague Giovanni Cerimoniale, the idea of the guide was born, written for paediatricians, but which it is also easy to read for parents”, explains Al Jamal to Adnkronos Salute.
It is a text that collects scientific evidence with the aim of helping pediatricians to ‘educate’ parents on the correct use of screens. Already starting from pregnancy. “There are not many studies on the effects that excessive use of devices can have on the fetus – specifies Al Jamal – But there are and they call for caution. And this is the key word, the objective is to avoid risks as much as possible, such as in the case of exposure to electrosmog during the 9 months”.
As regards children, “our data indicates that almost all children over the age of 12 own a mobile phone, reaching over 91%. Having a mobile phone for teenagers also means exposing themselves to content that can pollute the their development on a psycho-social level. We conducted studies on different samples in schools. The data we brought out are very worrying, because the negative influence on the time dedicated to social relationships, sporting activity and studying is evident.”
As for the little ones, “unfortunately in the vast majority of families – continues the pediatrician – the child is left alone with the mobile phone, which can also be very useful if properly managed. The first rule therefore is to follow the children”. The second rule is that “children up to 3 years of age must not be exposed to screens. TV must also be used in moderation”. According to the guide, before the age of 3 the child needs to build his space-time references, therefore it is advisable to avoid the use of screens as much as possible; from 3 to 6 years old the child needs to discover all his sensory and manual possibilities, therefore playing with peers should be encouraged, avoiding personal smartphones or tablets; from 6 to 9 years is the age at which the rules of the social game are discovered, therefore it is advisable to discourage the use of the Internet; finally, from 9 to 12 years, i.e. the age in which the child begins to become independent from family references, the web can represent a valid tool for exploring new contents suitable for his age, under the watchful eye of his parents, but yes suggests avoiding direct participation in social networks.
Hence the demonstration that the biological clock of the patients examined runs faster than that of an average healthy person. But there were precision issues, and the team developed a new, more accurate epigenetic clock – the Glasgow-Karolinska clock, in fact – that works equally well on both healthy and diseased tissue.
As the body ages, a number of factors lead to epigenetic changes and the loss of a ‘chemical tag’ (DNA methylation) from the genetic code. This phenomenon is often associated with a number of diseases common with aging, such as chronic kidney disease, cancer, and heart disease. Epigenetic clocks have been proposed as the ‘gold standard’, as they are able to measure these aspects.
The one developed by the experts was shown to do so more accurately, even “compared to the high standards of a clinical setting,” says Helen Erlandsson (Karolinska Institutet), one of the study’s first authors. “The ‘tagging’ of DNA methylation is influenced by what we eat and also by the gut microbiome. As a result – he highlights – this new clock has real potential to be able to evaluate lifestyle interventions, including diet, which could benefit the public and help address issues such as health inequalities.”
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