[Impact of electronic devices used at an early age on language].

BACKGROUND

The acquisition of language in infants is largely the result of the process of brain maturation, as well as environmental stimulation. Currently, society is in an era of technology and use of electronic devices from an early age.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to demonstrate if the amount of time of use of electronic devices in children under 5 years of age affects language development.

METHODS

An observational, comparative, survey-type study was carried out in 269 infants of both sexes, with an age range of 6 to <60 months. The language development section of the Child Development Scale (EDI) was used. A logistic regression was performed to determine the strength of association between the factors to be studied.

RESULTS

269 participants were included, of which 224 (83.2%) presented their level of neurological maturation, 44 infants (16.4%) presented laged development and one (0.4%) was classified as having developmental delay. It was found that the number of daily hours that an electronic device is used behaved as a risk factor by increasing the risk of delayed language development by 1.37 times for each hour of exposure (OR: 1.37, CI95%: 1.15-1.62).

CONCLUSIONS

It was shown that a greater number of hours of use of electronic devices is a risk factor for delayed language development in children under 5 years of age. Therefore, it is vital to limit its use in this population.