Prevalence of High-Risk Behaviors among Iranian Adolescents: a Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

 Our knowledge of the prevalence of high-risk behaviors among Iranian adolescents is controversial. This paper was aimed to estimate the prevalence of drug abuse, alcohol consumption, smoking, hookah, and extramarital sex among Iranian adolescents with a systematic approach.

In this meta-analyses study, the databases were searched up to date of 2020/1/21 that searched major international databases including Web of Science, Medline, and Scopus, and some national databases include SID, IranDoc, Magiran, and a reference list of the selected studies to obtain the relevant studies until 2020/02/21. PRISMA checklist and the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist were used. Stata 11 software was used to analyze data.

Out of 8047 studies identified at initial phase, 37 studies were eligible for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of drug abuse, alcohol consumption, smoking, hookah and extramarital sex were 4% (95% CI: 3% to 5%), 9% (95% CI: 6% to 10%), 9% (95% CI: 7% to 10%), 20% (95% CI: 14% to 25%) and 20% (95% CI: 9% to 31%), respectively.

The prevalence of high-risk behaviors in Iranian adolescents is high. Taking primary prevention measures to reduce prevalence is recommended by legal and health measures.