The prevalence of current water pipe use among Iranianmale population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction:

Waterpipe as a traditional method of tobacco consumption is a public health challenge. Consid-ering the growing trend of waterpipe (hookah) use in Iran, this systematic review aimed to measure the pooledprevalence of waterpipe current use among Iranian men.Materialsand

The present systematic reviewwas conducted on the published cross-sectional studies during 2009-2019 aiming at estimating the prevalenceof waterpipe current use among Iranian men. Current use of waterpipe was defined as using waterpipe withinthe preceding 30 days. Random Effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence by STATA v.14.

Ten cross-sectional epidemiologic studies with a total sample size of of 6,263 were included in the meta-analysis.The pooled prevalence of waterpipe current use among Iranian men was estimated at 25% (95% Confidence In-terval: 30-20%).

There are a variety of definitions for current use of waterpipe across studies. Theresults of this study suggest a high prevalence of current use of waterpipe among Iranian men during 2009-2019.Increased use of waterpipe in communities should be considered as a public health concern and a matter ofpriority by health policymakers. Preventive programs should take into account the acceptability and appealingnature of waterpipe among Iranian population and consider them as important modifiable factors