Relationship between social media exposure, neuropsychological profile and associations with nutritional status and buccal cell fatty acid profile

Paper number 577 - 3-minute Thesis - Oral Presentations.

Experimental: Cognitive, Psychobiology and Neuropsychology.

Exposure to social networking sites (SNS) and non-educational gaming (NEG) may cause anxiety, depression, and stress in children and adolescents. Fatty acids are central neuropsychological mediators, where the links between nutritional status, fatty acid profile and neurocognitive function are established. High omega-6 and low omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (ω-6/ ω-3 PUFA) ratios are identified in individuals diagnosed with depression. However, the relationship between exposure to SNS/NEG, nutritional status and neuropsychological profile among children and adolescents is yet to be established. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate this relationship in these individuals. A total number of 19 individuals were recruited and stratified into a) 9-12 years (n=9) and b) 15-16 years (n=10) age groups. Psychometric analyses were performed including, a) Beck Youth Inventories for children and adolescents, b) Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, c) Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory and d) Motor Skill Assessment. A four-day food diary and ‘time spent on SNS/NEG questionnaire’ was also completed. Fatty acid profile analysis was performed by gas chromatography from the membrane extract obtained from participant buccal cells at point of recruitment. Pearson's correlation and Spearman Rank Correlation analysis were performed to determine trends. The psychometric analysis revealed a significant link between time spent on SNS/NEG and mental health (p<0.001) with compromised motor function (p<0.05). The fatty acid profile analysis revealed an association between an increased ω-6 and decreased level of ω-3 PUFA ratio when compared to age and hours spent on SNS/NEG. This trend was also observed for saturated fat, Iron, Iodine and Vitamin E, indicating a wider nutritional impact. Taken together, this study indicates that mental health and motor development decline, along with nutritional status may be influenced by the amount of time spent on SNS/NEG. This in turn may have profound effects on neuropsychological development in children and adolescents.