Higher amounts of screen time might be connected to an increased risk of developing obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to a new study.

The study, published on Monday in the Journal of Adolescent Health, included around 9,200 children between the ages of nine and ten who reported how long they use screens. The different uses involved video game playing, watching videos, watching movies or shows, texting, chatting with people over video, and using social media sites.

Two years after they discussed the time they spend on each activity, scientists asked their parents about diagnoses of OCD, as well as symptoms of OCD. The researchers found that every additional hour of watching videos and playing video games was connected “with a subsequent OCD diagnosis.”

The study reported that every additional hour of playing video games was connected with a 13% higher risk of future OCD, and every additional hour of watching videos was connected with 11% more risk. When they followed up after two years, the researchers found that 4.4% of the cohort had developed new-onset OCD from baseline. In addition, 6.6% “met diagnostic criteria for OCD.”

OCD is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as “a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder” where someone “has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts” “and/or behaviors” that someone “feels the urge to repeat over and over.”

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, OCD typically starts in late teen years and when someone is in their early adult years. It occurs in 1 in 200 kids and teens. Between 1% and 3% of kids and teens have OCD, according to Evolve Treatment Centers.

“Although screen time can have important benefits such as education and increased socialization, parents should be aware of the potential risks, especially to mental health,” Dr. Jason Nagata, who led the study, said. “Children who spend excessive time playing video games report feeling the need to play more and more and being unable to stop despite trying.”

“Intrusive thoughts about video game content could develop into obsessions or compulsions,” Nagata added. “Screen addictions are associated with compulsivity and loss of behavioral control, which are core symptoms of OCD.”

The algorithmic model and ads on sites like YouTube could create an environment “for compulsive viewing of homogenous content,” the study noted.

Video chat, social media use, and texting were not as commonly used in the group of children who were in the study.

While the research does not necessarily show a causal link, the association is one that could provide further insight into the effects of screen time. The purpose of the study was “to determine the prospective associations between baseline screen time and obsessive-compulsive disorder” after two years in a national group of kids ages nine to ten. Family history was incorporated as a covariate.

In the study, scientists noted that research done in the future should look at what connects video game playing and video watching to the development of OCD.

“Families can develop a media use plan which could include screen-free times including before bedtime,” Nagata said.

The study noted that mental health issues and the use of screens among teens have gone up in the past few years, brought on by the pandemic.

According to Physician’s Weekly, 89% of participants in a self-reporting study said they were in front of screens more often when the lockdown happened. Younger people said they had more “symptoms of digital eye strain,” and eyestrain and headaches were the most frequent types of strain, according to the publication.

Another study published in JAMA Pediatrics last year showed that adolescent use of screens in the early days of the pandemic was around twice as much than it was before the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the estimates “from the same cohort at baseline” were 3.8 hours per day, but some variables could explain the differences, the study noted. It found that adolescent screen time was 7.7 hours per day early in the COVID pandemic.

A famous mountain lion in the Los Angeles area has been captured after it recently carried out several attacks.

The lion, called P-22, is well known in the area and lived in Griffith Park, a 4,000-acre area in the Hollywood Hills. However, the animal has attacked two dogs and also been spotted near houses, leading to concern about its wellbeing.

Sarah Picchi, a resident of Los Feliz, told the Los Angeles Times that the lion was captured in her backyard on Monday. She was working a little before eleven in the morning when someone rang at the entrance to her home.

“The woman said, ‘No, I’m with Wildlife. You have a lion in your backyard,’” Picchi said in an interview with the Times. “Of course, I knew it was P-22 because I’ve been following the story.”

Last week, authorities with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that the agency would “capture the world-famous mountain lion P-22 and bring him in for a health evaluation.” After the animal is assessed, veterinarians with the agency and National Park Service biologists will decide what the best way forward will be for P-22.

“P-22 has been reported near human dwellings close to his habitat in Griffith Park. Reports include sightings, video camera recordings and physical encounters with the lion,” the agency said in a press release. “P-22 is a remarkably old cat in the wild and, after being deemed responsible for killing a leashed pet last month, may be exhibiting signs of distress.”

The agency also called it “an unprecedented situation in which a mountain lion has continued to survive in such an urban setting.”

P-22 is thought to have killed a chihuahua mix dog while a person was walking the dog on November 9, and also attacked another chihuahua. The owner of the second chihuahua fought back against the lion.

“My wife and I got Piper in 2014,” Daniel Jimenez, the first dog’s owner, said. “We rescued her and she was just the sweetest dog. We’re just devastated at the loss of our little dog.”

“I don’t want anything bad to happen to P-22,” Jimenez noted. “I just want people to be safe out there so that nothing like this happens again.”

In early 2012, P-22 was first seen in Griffith Park and has become famous in the area since that time.

Beth Pratt is the California regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation and is also in charge of the SaveLACougars effort.

“If Griffith Park was connected to other open space, P22 would have options,” she reportedly wrote in a statement last week. “P22 might not be now traveling so close to the denser human-wildlife interface.”

It was previously believed that it could take a while to bring the animal in.

“It’s up to the cat,” Pratt said. “It could be a couple of days or it could be in a month. It just depends on how quickly the cat cooperates.”