Objective

To investigate the prevalence of cell phone addiction and the association with apps use and preference among medical students in China to offer suggestions for phone addiction prevention and management.

Methods

A total of 3058 medical undergraduate students from six medical universities/colleges located in five provinces of China were randomly sampled and interviewed. An adapted “Questionnaire of Mobile APP” from “Manolis/Roberts Cell-Phone Addiction Scale” was used to conduct the interview. Chi-squared (χ2) test and binary logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. A database was built with EpiData 3.1, and statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 23.0.

Results

Cell phone addiction was reported by 16.25% of medial undergraduates. Univariate analysis found statistical difference among addictive students with different genders, hukou status, monthly cell phone bills and in-love status. The following were reported as the risk factors for mobile addiction among medical students by logistic regression analysis: medical students who were female (odds ratio [OR]=1.704, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.386, 2.095), were from urban (OR=1.307, 95% CI=1.046, 1.634), had boyfriend or girlfriend (OR=1.333, 95% CI=1.080, 1.646), used reading apps (OR=1.254, 95% CI=1.015, 1.549), were using reading apps (OR=1.254, 95% CI=1.015, 1.549), and were using chat apps (OR=2.222 , 95% CI=1.146, 4.310).

Conclusion

Medical students who are female, from urban, in-love, or frequent users of reading and chat apps may face a higher risk of cell phone addiction. Therefore, gender-specific and app type-specific interven-tions should be developed to intervene college students’ cell phone addiction.