Even as children are increasingly getting exposed to screens from a young age, a new study in rats showed that long-term exposure to blue light, emitting from smartphones or tablets, may lead to early puberty.
The findings linked the early risk of puberty with accelerated bone growth and bone age caused because of exposure to blue light.
The research, presented at the 62nd Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in Liverpool, is the first to explore the link between bone growth and pubertal development.
“This is the first study to show how blue light could potentially influence physical growth and development, prompting further research into the effects of modern screen exposure on children’s growth,” said lead researcher Dr Aylin Kılınc Ugurlu, from Gazi University in Turkey.
As the study was conducted in rats, “we cannot be sure that these findings would be replicated in children but our data suggest …