Association between self-reported digital dementia-related cognitive symptoms and academic performance among undergraduate nursing students at an Indian university: a cross-sectional study

Digital technologies play an increasingly important role in nursing education, providing access to online learning resources and mobile applications. However, intensive digital-device use may be associated with self-reported cognitive symptoms, such as difficulties with concentration and attention and mental fatigue. Evidence regarding the relationship between these symptoms and academic functioning among nursing students remains limited. To assess self-reported digital-dementia-related cognitive symptoms and academic functioning and examine the association between them among undergraduate nursing students in India. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 undergraduate nursing students at SUM Nursing College, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a sociodemographic and digital-use proforma, a study-specific 25-item Digital Dementia Scale, and a study-specific Self-Reported Academic Functioning Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple linear regression were performed using SPSS version 25. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The mean digital-dementia-related cognitive symptom score was 57.27 ± 13.62, with 89.3% of participants falling within the study-specific moderate-score category. The mean academic functioning score was 75.19 ± 13.15; 40.3% of participants were classified as having average academic functioning and 39.7% as having good academic functioning. A weak negative correlation was observed between cognitive symptom and academic functioning scores ( r = − 0.122, p = 0.035), corresponding to approximately 1.5% shared variance. The multiple linear regression model for academic functioning was statistically significant ( F (18, 281) = 4.886, p < 0.001; adjusted R ² = 0.190). Family income, monthly expenditure on digital-device use, device type, device use before bedtime, and eye strain or headache due to screen exposure were significantly associated with academic functioning. The regression model for digital-dementia-related cognitive symptoms was not statistically significant ( F (18, 281) = 0.488, p = 0.962). Self-reported digital-dementia-related cognitive symptoms showed a weak negative association with academic functioning among undergraduate nursing students. These findings do not establish causality or indicate clinically diagnosed dementia. The single-institution setting, convenience sampling, reliance on self-reported data, and preliminary psychometric evidence for the study-specific instruments limit the interpretation and generalisability of the findings. Multicentre longitudinal studies using further-validated instruments and objective measures of digital-device use and academic performance are warranted.