Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2014 Jun 20:14:183.
doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-14-183.

The association between internet addiction and psychiatric co-morbidity: a meta-analysis

Roger C Ho, Melvyn W B Zhang, Tammy Y Tsang, Anastasia H Toh, Fang Pan, Yanxia Lu, Cecilia Cheng, Paul S Yip, Lawrence T Lam, Ching-Man Lai, Hiroko Watanabe, Kwok-Kei Mak  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The association between internet addiction and psychiatric co-morbidity: a meta-analysis

Roger C Ho et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: This study evaluates the association between Internal Addiction (IA) and psychiatric co-morbidity in the literature.

Methods: Meta-analyses were conducted on cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies which examined the relationship between IA and psychiatric co-morbidity. Selected studies were extracted from major online databases. The inclusion criteria are as follows: 1) studies conducted on human subjects; 2) IA and psychiatric co-morbidity were assessed by standardised questionnaires; and 3) availability of adequate information to calculate the effect size. Random-effects models were used to calculate the aggregate prevalence and the pooled odds ratios (OR).

Results: Eight studies comprising 1641 patients suffering from IA and 11210 controls were included. Our analyses demonstrated a significant and positive association between IA and alcohol abuse (OR = 3.05, 95% CI = 2.14-4.37, z = 6.12, P < 0.001), attention deficit and hyperactivity (OR = 2.85, 95% CI = 2.15-3.77, z = 7.27, P < 0.001), depression (OR = 2.77, 95% CI = 2.04-3.75, z = 6.55, P < 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.70, 95% CI = 1.46-4.97, z = 3.18, P = 0.001).

Conclusions: IA is significantly associated with alcohol abuse, attention deficit and hyperactivity, depression and anxiety.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Forest plot comparing the odds ratios of having co-morbid alcohol abuse among patients suffering from internet addiction versus controls without internet addiction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot comparing the odds ratios of having co-morbid attention deficit hyperactivity among patients suffering from internet addiction versus controls without internet addiction.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot comparing the odds ratios of having co-morbid depression among patients suffering from internet addiction versus controls without internet addiction.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot comparing the odds ratios of having co-morbid anxiety among patients suffering from internet addiction versus controls without internet addiction.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Literature search profile and study selection process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Block JJMD. Issues for DSM-V: internet addiction. Am J Psychiatry. 2008;165(3):306–307. - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5. 5. Washington: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
    1. Ko CH, Yen JY, Yen CF, Chen CS, Chen CC. The association between Internet addiction and psychiatric disorder: a review of the literature. Eur Psychiatry. 2012;27(1):1–8. - PubMed
    1. Weinstein A, Lejoyeux M. Internet addiction or excessive internet use. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2010;36(5):277–283. - PubMed
    1. Morrison CM, Gore H. The relationship between excessive Internet use and depression: a questionnaire-based study of 1,319 young people and adults. Psychopathology. 2010;43(2):121–126. - PubMed

Publication types