The Association Between Smartphone Use and Risk of Hypertension in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Qinrui Hu,1,* Yang Li,2– 4,* Bin Wang,2– 4 Bo Zuo,5 Xiaoxin Li6 1Eye Institute and Affiliated Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, People’s Republic of China; 2Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Corneal & Ocular Surface Diseases, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 3Xiamen Municipal Key Laboratory of Corneal & Ocular Surface Diseases, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 4Xiamen Research Center for Eye Diseases and Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Centre, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, 100044, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Bo Zuo, Cardiovascular Centre, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: The smartphone use profoundly affects human health. At present, the effect of smartphone use on the risk of hypertension in adults aged 50 years and older remains unknown. This study aimed to explore the association between smartphone use and hypertension in this population.Methods: From 2018 to 2019, people aged 50 years and older were enrolled in the Fujian Provincial Eye Study (FJES), a population-based cross-sectional survey of the public’s general and ocular health in Fujian Province, China. Information on smartphone use was obtained from the baseline survey, and blood pressure measurements were obtained via standardized on-site examination. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed on the study variables. P< 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: This study ultimately enrolled 8,211 eligible participants aged ≥ 50 years, and the mean age was 64.39± 8.87 years. The risk of hypertension decreased significantly with increasing smartphone use time, although people who spent more time on smartphones had higher systolic blood pressure (SBP). There was no significant association between smartphone use time and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that smartphone use time, along with age, BMI, diabetes and education level, was an independent predictor of hypertension risk.Conclusion: The duration of smartphone use demonstrated a significant inverse association with hypertension risk and was identified an independent predictor of hypertension risk in adults aged 50 years and older. Thus, smartphone use duration is a potentially useful indicator for assessing the risk of hypertension in this population.Keywords: smartphone use, hypertension, China