Internet gaming disorder risk in Brazil: Prevalence and associations with depressive and anxiety symptoms in a nationally representative survey.

INTRODUCTION

Problematic gaming is recognized in both major diagnostic systems, as Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in the DSM-5 and Gaming Disorder in the ICD-11, yet no nationally representative prevalence data exist for Brazil.

METHODS

Data were drawn from a cross-sectional, nationally representative Brazilian household survey conducted in 2023 (gaming module: n = 4,856). IGD risk was assessed among past-month gamers (n = 1,096; 1,050 analyzed) with the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10), a DSM-5-aligned screening instrument (cut-off ≥ 5 criteria); an exploratory four-level severity classification was also examined. Analyses accounted for the complex sampling design, with multiple imputation for missing predictors.

RESULTS

Among past-month gamers, 3.4 % (95 % CI: 1.5-5.4) were classified as at risk for IGD; in the population aged ≥ 14 years, the weighted prevalence was 0.75 % (95 % CI: 0.33-1.16), corresponding to approximately 1.3 million individuals (95 % CI: 0.6-2.0 million). In the adjusted model, moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms (OR = 8.82, 95 % CI: 2.39-32.55) and frequent anxiety symptoms (OR = 4.15, 95 % CI: 1.01-17.02) were the strongest correlates, and higher household income was associated with reduced odds (OR = 0.035, 95 % CI: 0.005-0.24); associations were directionally consistent across Firth-penalized, reduced-model, and complete-case sensitivity analyses. An exploratory multinomial model showed progressively stronger associations of depressive symptoms across severity categories (relative risk ratio = 14.41 for the IGD Risk category).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides the first nationally representative estimate of IGD risk in Brazil and, to our knowledge, in Latin America; the 0.75 % prevalence indicates a relevant public health concern.