Background: Health behaviors and risk behaviors are often related to the community in a more complex pattern of behaviors associated with lifestyles. This study aimed to find out the prevalence and perceived contributing factors of physical fighting, cigarette smoking and alcohol use among adolescents in Erbil city Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Erbil, Iraq from the 4th of November 2020 through the 10th of March, 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data from the adolescents’ preparatory schools. 1000 students were chosen randomly out of 36777 students in high schools. Results: The mean age + SD of the students was 16.7 + 1.2 years, ranging from 14 to 19 years. The median was 17 years. Physical fighting was the most common risk behavior among the students (28.4%), followed by smoking (13.4%), and the lowest rate of risk behaviors was for alcohol drinking (2.2%). There was significant association between age and alcohol drinking. Conclusion: The physical fighting was the commonest health risk behavior among all male students in high schools in Erbil city. There was statistically significant association between age and alcohol drinking. future research ought to be conducted in the other governorates of Kurdistan to provide an additional accurate depiction of multiple health risk behaviors among adolescent students in high school in Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Background: The protozoa parasite Entamoeba histolytica is an essential cause of human morbidity and mortality around the world other than malaria and schistosomiasis. Prevalence of E. histolytica in Sulaimani province, KRG, Iraq has been scantily studied as well as detecting and controlling the risk factors related to the parasite is crucial in Sulaimani city. Aims: A cross-sectional study was pointed to supply the primary information on the prevalence and epidemiological risk factors including age, residency, economic status, drinking water source, hand washing and consuming raw vegetable related to E. histolytica infection among children between 1 to 10 years old in Sulaimani city, Iraq. Materials and methods: A total of 450 stool samples randomly were collected (during period from September 2021 to February 2022) from children in Sulaimani pediatric hospital in Sulaimani city, KRG, Iraq, and examined by direct smear microscopy in normal saline and iodine smears which is followed by Sulaimani medical laboratories for detection and diagnosis of E. histolytica infection. Results: The Prevalence of E. histolytica infection in Sulaimani province was (19.3%), and significant association was recorded between the infection and economic status of the child family ( p value = 0.005), family who consuming raw vegetable (p value= 0.006)  and children’s  parent education level ( p value = 0.05). Conclusions: Prevalence of E. histolytica among children is low and this parasite may play a minor role in causing morbidity in these populations in Sulaimani city, Iraq. Besides, more studies are necessary to provide information on epidemiological risk factors of E. histolytica to improve health education and environmental sanitary conditions to protect children from the pathogen E. histolytica in Sulaimani city.