Background: Substance use among young people is a major public health problem in Iran. Objectives: The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of substance misuse and its determinants in medical sciences students in Tehran, Iran. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on a randomly selected sample of 1992 medical sciences students during 2012-2013. Anonymous, structured questionnaires were distributed among the students in each selected class. Substance misuse was defined according to cultural and epidemiological features. Data analysis was performed using chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, and binary logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of prescription drug misuse, last year alcohol use, and ever illicit substance use was 4.9%, 6.9%, and 2.9%, respectively. The result of multiple logistic regression model showed that being a male (OR = 4.0), hookah use in the last year (OR = 3.2), prescription drug misuse (OR = 3.2), and alcohol use in the last year (OR = 3.3) were associated with the students’ illicit substance use. Last year alcohol use (OR = 5.3), ever illicit substance use (OR = 3.2), and illicit substance use in friends (OR = 2.6) were associated with prescription drug misuse. Conclusions: Our results suggested that the prevalence of prescription drugs, alcohol and illicit substance use was relatively low, though still significant, among Iranian students, which was strongly associated with family and friends’ use. The findings of this research can be used for planning and evaluating interventions by considering the risk factors and protective factors in Universities. Keywords: Prescription Drug Misuse; Street Drugs; Students

Risk-taking behaviors have negative consequences on adolescent and young adult’s health. The aim of this study was to identify the subgroups of college students on the basis of risk-taking behaviors and to assess the role of demographic characteristics, religious beliefs, and parental support on membership of specific subgroup. The cross-sectional study took place in Tabriz (northwest of Iran) in April and May of 2011. The randomly selected sample consisted of 1,837 college students. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Latent class analysis was performed to achieve the study’s objectives. Four latent classes were identified: (a) low risk, (b) cigarette and hookah smoker, (c) sexual and drinking risk-takers (for males)/sexual risk takers (for females), and (d) high risk. Notably, 13.3% of the males and 4.3% of the females were in the high-risk class. The results identified evidence of protective influence of familial support and religiosity on risky behaviors. A fair number of college students, males in particular, were identified as high risk-takers. Design and implementation of preventive interventions for this segment of the population are necessary. Higher level of familial support and religiosity may serve as preventive factors in risk-taking behaviors.

Background: Hookah smoking has increased worldwide, especially among young people. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of hookah use and related factors in a sample of Iranian students of medical sciences. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1992 randomly selected sample of students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 2012 - 2013. A multistage sampling method was used and anonymous structured questionnaires were distributed to the students of each selected class. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and multiple binary logistic regression analyses were performed and P < 0.05 was considered as a significance level. Results: Lifetime, last year and last month prevalence rates of hookah smoking were 26.6% (95% CI: 24.7 - 28.6), 17.8% (95% CI: 16.1 - 19.5) and 8.9% (95% CI: 7.7 - 10.2), respectively. The results of logistic regression model showed that male gender [odds ratio (OR) = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.86 - 4.21], cigarette smoking in the past year (OR = 5.6, 95% CI: 3.21 - 9.83), alcohol use in the past year (OR = 7.4, 95% CI: 4.01 - 13.06), cigarette or hookah smoking in the family members (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.13 - 2.51), cigarette or hookah smoking among friends (OR = 4.4, 95% CI: 2.69 - 7.33), alcohol use by friends in the past year (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.20 - 3.14), and illicit substance use among friends (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.22 - 4.05) were associated with hookah smoking. Conclusions: The results of our study indicate a relatively high prevalence of hookah smoking among Iranian students. The findings emphasize the importance of planning preventive interventions by considering different high-risk behaviors simultaneously. Keywords: Hubble-bubble; Waterpipe; Risky behaviors; Predictors; College

Objective: The goal of the present study was to assess the prevalence of cigarette smoking and its relationship to other risk taking behaviors, perceived familial support and religiosity among college students in Tabriz, Iran.