Gadgets don't cause teenagers' headaches

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- German scientists say they've determined the use of most electronic media is not associated with headaches, at least not in adolescents.

Astric Milde-Bush from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, studied 1,025 13- to 17-year-olds and found no association between their use of computer games, mobile phones or television and the occurrence of headaches or migraines.

But the scientists did find listening to one or two hours of music every day was associated with headaches.

"Excessive use of electronic media is often reported to be associated with long-lasting adverse effects on health like obesity or lack of regular exercise, or unspecific symptoms like tiredness, stress, concentration difficulties and sleep disturbances," Milde-Bush said. "Studies into the occurrence of headaches have had mixed results and for some types of media, in particular computer games, are completely lacking."

The researchers interviewed 489 teenagers who claimed to suffer from headaches and 536 who said they did not. When the two groups were compared, no associations were found for television viewing, electronic gaming, mobile phone usage or computer usage.

However, the study did find daily listening to music was significantly associated with suffering from any type of headache.

But, Milde-Busch added, "It cannot be concluded whether the habit of listening to music is the cause of frequent headaches, or the consequence in the sense a self-therapy by relaxation."

The study appears in the journal BMC Neurology.