INTRODUCTION During the last two decades, several studies have been published regarding the prevalence of tobacco smoking among college students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This systematic review and meta-analysis is intended to determine and examine the smoking prevalence in Saudi college students from 2010–2018. METHODS PubMed, Science Direct, APA PsycNET, Web of Science, and CINAHL were used to search for published articles reporting the smoking prevalence among Saudi college students. After eliminating irrelevant articles, investigators independently assessed the quality of each article, based on Russell & Gregory guidelines. MetaXL software was used to calculate the pooled prevalence among included studies, using the IVhert model. Heterogeneity among the included studies was evaluated, using I 2 statistic. Sensitivity analyses were conducted between male and female genders. RESULTS Of the 295 published articles, 29 articles used a cross-sectional design to determine smoking prevalence among Saudi college students. Most of the studies were conducted in Riyadh at health-science-related colleges; the rest were performed in different cities and colleges. The meta-analysis showed that the pooled estimate of smoking prevalence among college students in the KSA was 17% (95% CI: 11–23%). Saudi male students had a prevalence rate of 26% (95% CI: 24–29%), whereas for Saudi female students the prevalence was 5% (95% CI: 3–7%). CONCLUSIONS Smoking among Saudi college students was higher than in the majority of regional countries (e.g. Iran). Saudi male students had a higher smoking prevalence than Saudi female college students. Additionally, studies that reported a high prevalence targeted students in specific disciplines. Public health authorities in the KSA should develop a surveillance system that monitors the prevalence of tobacco smoking on campuses. A surveillance system of monitoring tobacco use among Saudi college students could be beneficial in determining the degree of the tobacco problem and in improving current tobacco control programs.

The study aims to systematically review the literature for risk factors associated with poor glycaemic control among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Saudi Arabia (SA) and conducts a meta‐analysis of its prevalence. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, we searched the Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL Plus databases from May to November 2018. The search terms were T2DM, glycaemic control, and SA. The inclusion criteria include the following: observational studies which were conducted in T2DM patients in SA reporting prevalence or/and personal, psychological or behavioural predictors in papers published after 2006. Articles were assessed using a modified Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) tool. Studies included in the meta‐analysis defined uncontrolled T2DM as glycated haemoglobin ≥7% (53 mmol/mol), and reported results were based on a random‐effects model. Eighteen of the following articles (3 retrospective cohort studies, 1 case–control study, and 14 cross‐sectional studies) were included. The quality of the studies (high: 2; moderate: 7, and low: 9) varied. The pooled prevalence of uncontrolled T2DM in SA was 77.7% (95% CI, 71.2–84.2). In the included studies, the most consistent predictors of poor glycaemic control were longer diabetes duration, lack of self‐efficacy, and low knowledge of diabetes. However, significant variations in research designs were observed across the studies. A national diabetes prevention and treatment program is needed to lessen the burden of diabetes in SA. Future studies should address the personal, psychological, and behavioural factors of poor glycaemic control in SA at national level.

INTRODUCTION There has been an increase in tobacco smoking among Saudi college students in recent years. However, no study has examined, with a systematic approach, the extent to which specific factors are associated with tobacco smoking among this population. METHODS PubMed, ProQuest, CINAHL, and Web of Science were utilized to retrieve studies addressing risk factors associated with tobacco smoking among Saudi college students between 2010 and 2019. After confirming their eligibility criteria, studies were imported to the NVivo software for data collection and synthesis. All included articles were critically appraised, based on a modified STROBE. RESULTS Twenty-one out of 300 studies met the eligibility requirements for inclusion. Riyadh was the location, health-related science was the field of study, and male the gender of the population of most of the included studies. Only one study used a longitudinal design based on a theoretical framework, the rest were cross-sectional and lacked theoretical utilization. Four individual and two social factors were established to have a significant relationship with tobacco smoking behavior among college students in four or more studies. Environmental factors were found to be associated with a change in smoking behavior among Saudi college students based on two studies. CONCLUSIONS There is a dearth of research in utilizing theoretical frameworks to guide the research in order to propose an intervention program among Saudi college students. Future research should aim to recruit participants from different institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), apply other methodological approaches, test other measurements of tobacco smoking, and utilize a theoretical framework.

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