Smoking status in Iranian male adolescents: a cross-sectional study and a meta-analysis.
Nazarzadeh M., Bidel Z., Ayubi E., Bahrami A., Jafari F., Mohammadpoorasl A., Delpisheh A., Taremian F.
The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of smoking status and its associated factors in Iranian adolescents and a meta-analysis of recent cross-sectional studies in order to estimate the corresponding prevalence for all Iranian adolescents. In a cross-sectional study, 1064 male high school students in Zanjan city (northwest of Iran) were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was used for smoking status and associated factors. Through the meta-analysis, all relevant published studies were reviewed. Almost one-third of adolescents (34.2%, n=354) have experienced smoking either experimentally (23.4%, n=242), or regularly (10.8%, n=112). Multivariate analysis showed that older age (OR=1.20; 95% CI: 1.05-1.37), risky behaviors (OR=1.83; 1.25-2.68), Tramadol medication (OR=2.19; 1.54-3.11), low self-esteem (OR=1.07; 1.03-1.11), positive attitude toward smoking (OR=1.15; 1.09-1.21), positive thinking about smoking (OR=1.07; 1.01-1.14) and having smoker friends (OR=1.94; 1.36-2.77) were significantly associated with cigarette smoking in adolescents. Meta-analysis results showed that 7% of Iranian adolescents are regular smokers and 27% are experimenters. Increasing prevalence of smoking in Iranian adolescents is a major concern for public health. Controlling risky behaviors and increasing health education are recommended.