Geographic Distribution and Time Trends of Water-Pipe Use Among Iranian Youth and Teenage Students: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review Publisher Pubmed



Afrashteh S¹ ; Ansarifar A² ; Vali M³ ; Nami Nazari L⁴ ; Keshtkar N² ; Memar S⁴ ; Mohebbi E^{5, 6} ; Hadji M⁷ ; Ostovar A⁵ ; Zendehdel K⁵ ; Marzban M^{8, 9}
Source: Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse Published:2023

Abstract

Water-pipe tobacco smoking is harmful to health, yet its rate of prevalence remains uncertain. Recent evidence has shown that the prevalence of water-pipe smoking among students is higher than in the general population. In this study, a systematic review of related literature on water-pipe use was conducted, and for this purpose, 76 articles were examined in the study. In this vein, geographic distribution and time trends of water-pipe consumption in Iran were considered. The results of this study showed that lifetime, last-year, and last-month prevalence of water-pipe smoking use among Iranian students were 28.78 (25.07–32.49), 20.84 (16.01–25.66), and 16.36 (11.86–20.85), respectively. The results also showed a wide variation by the region and sex in Iran. This study has shown the importance of addressing public prevention and alerting programs in schools and universities. © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.