Association between Asthma and Internet Addiction Status in Korean Adolescents

BACKGROUND: Problematic Internet addiction (IA) has been shown to be associated with a variety of psychological comorbidities, but its relationship with adolescent asthma has not yet been investigated in detail. METHODS: We analyzed 18,473 adolescent patients with physician-diagnosed asthma and 205,069 non-asthmatic adolescent patients from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Socioeconomic factors, health behavior factors, psychological factors, and IA status were assessed using the Korean Internet Addiction Proneness Scale. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed, with adjustment for multiple cofounders, to explore the association between IA and adolescent asthma. RESULTS: Comparison between the adolescent asthma group and non-adolescent asthma group indicated higher rates of probable IA (13.7% vs. 12.1%, respectively, P<0.001), IA (4.8% vs. 3.1%, respectively, P<0.001), and problematic IA (18.5% vs. 15.2%, respectively, P<0.001) in the adolescent asthma group. After adjustment for multiple confounders, probable IA [odds ratio (OR): 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08–1.26] and IA (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.02–1.12) were significantly associated with increased risk of adolescent asthma, compared to non-problematic Internet use. CONCLUSIONS: IA is associated with an increased rate of asthma in Korean adolescents. So, IA has attracted minimal attention in relation to the treatment of asthma.