Reported Daily Screen Exposure Above One Hour and Maternally Observed Eye-Related Symptoms Among Under-Five Children in Ibadan, Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional analysis

Abstract Evidence on early-childhood screen exposure and caregiver-observed visual discomfort remains limited in many African settings. This cross-sectional study reanalysed data from 420 mothers of children aged 0–59 months in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Nigeria, to estimate the prevalence of reported daily screen exposure above one hour, describe maternally observed eye-related symptom clustering, and examine cross-sectional associations with maternal knowledge, perception, regulation, and socio-demographic characteristics. Analsysis was done on SPSS v25, the screen-exposure variable was reported as daily screen exposure above one hour rather than as WHO-defined excessive screen use. Daily exposure above one hour was reported for 286 children (68.1%). Maternally observed eye-related symptom presence, defined as two or more symptoms on a four-item screening index, was observed in 174 children (41.4%); 152 (36.2%) had no symptoms, 199 (47.4%) had mild symptom burden, and 69 (16.4%) had high symptom burden. Daily exposure above one hour was associated with symptom presence in bivariate analysis (chi-square = 70.518, df = 1, p < 0.001). In a DAG-informed model adjusted for maternal socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, and perception, daily exposure above one hour was associated with higher odds of symptom presence (aOR = 3.03, 95% CI: 1.50–6.12, p = 0.002), while higher knowledge (aOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.54–0.74, p < 0.001) and perception scores (aOR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.86–0.93, p < 0.001) were associated with lower adjusted odds. When the conceptually overlapping maternal practice score was added in a sensitivity model, the daily exposure association was attenuated and was not statistically significant (aOR = 1.64, 95% CI: 0.76–3.55, p = 0.212), while practice score remained associated with lower odds of symptom presence (aOR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.72–0.88, p < 0.001). The findings suggest that reported prolonged screen exposure and maternally observed eye-related symptoms were common in this urban Ibadan sample. Future Nigerian studies should collect child age in months, objective or diary-based screen exposure, device and content information, and clinical ophthalmic assessment.