Prevalence of smartphone behavioral addiction and musculoskeletal pain among health professions students

Background: Digitalization in education has gained new attention in many universities across the globe. However, adolescents and young adults adopt excessive, compulsive, uncontrolled use of their phones, leading to psychological dependence, and are at particular risk for adverse health effects. Hence this study was aimed at determining the prevalence of smartphone addiction amongst a cohort of students undergoing professional education and to evaluate the association between smartphone addiction and musculo-skeletal symptoms in them. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at an eminent Medical College, in the southern coastal state of Karnataka, India, from September 2024 to January 2025. A total of 400 students from medical, dentistry, and allied health courses participated. Data were collected via self-reported questionnaires, including the Smartphone addiction scale- short version and the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire, to assess addiction to smartphones and the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain at different sites of the body. A one-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s post hoc analysis was used to compare addiction among different streams of students, and the association between smartphone addiction and musculoskeletal symptoms was tested using chi-square test. Results: The proportion of smartphone addiction among medical, dental, and allied health profession students were 32%, 43%, and 30%, respectively. The proportion of students with lower back (39.8%) and neck pain (41.9%) was higher amongst individuals addicted to smartphones. Except for bilateral shoulder pain in the past 12 months (p < 0.033), no statistically significant association could be identified between smartphone addiction and somatic symptoms in students. Conclusions: The study revealed a relatively high (34%) prevalence of smartphone addiction among medical, dental, and allied health profession students. Though certain somatic symptoms were found to be more prevalent amongst those addicted to smartphone, the study couldn’t establish a statistically significant association between somatic symptoms and addiction. Prospective studies conducted over longer durations may be ideal to truly identify the causal association between smartphone addiction and musculo-skeletal symptoms.