Drug use, drug use disorders, and treatment services in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a systematic review

Rostam–Abadi, Yasna; Gholami, Jaleh; Jobehdar, Maral Mardaneh; Ardeshir, Maryam; Aghaei, Ardavan Mohammad; Olamazadeh, Sogol; Taj, Mahshid; Saeed, Khalid; Mojtabai, Ramin; Rahimi‐Movaghar, Afarin

doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(22)00435-7

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Based on similarities in social, cultural, geographical proximity, developmental indices and findings regarding substance use [13][14][15][16] Prevalence of the last 12-month use of alcohol was chosen for data synthesis at the country, subregional and regional levels to evaluate the extent of alcohol use among the male and female adult and young general populations. A series of selection and synthesis rules were developed based on evidence grade and the prevalence indicator.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We found a total of 91 studies providing data on the prevalence of alcohol use among the adult and young general populations in the region. However, the number of studies found on the prevalence of drug use in a recent systematic review was almost twice as large [15], suggesting that challenges might even be greater regarding research on alcohol. The estimated prevalence of last 12‐month use of any illicit drugs, cannabis and opioid in the region were 6.7, 4.3 and 2.2%, respectively [15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the number of studies found on the prevalence of drug use in a recent systematic review was almost twice as large [15], suggesting that challenges might even be greater regarding research on alcohol. The estimated prevalence of last 12‐month use of any illicit drugs, cannabis and opioid in the region were 6.7, 4.3 and 2.2%, respectively [15]. The similarity of the estimated last 12‐month alcohol use further highlights the similarity of the pattern of alcohol use and illicit drug use in the region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on similarities in social, cultural, geographical proximity, developmental indices and findings regarding substance use [13–16], Eastern Mediterranean countries were classified into five subregions for clearer estimations: (1) North Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia; (2) East Africa: Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen; (3) West Asia: Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria; (4) Gulf countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE); and (5) South Asia: Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This regional review has been conducted by a team of experts with a deep understanding of substance use in the Eastern Mediterranean region [13,14] and reported in concordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline (Supporting information, S1). This study was part of a larger assessment on substance use and use disorder (alcohol, opioids, stimulants, cannabis, cocaine, khat and inhalants), associated harms and treatment services in the Eastern Mediterranean region [15,16].…”

Section: Search Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alcohol use, alcohol use disorder and heavy episodic drinking in the Eastern Mediterranean region: A systematic review

Rostam‐Abadi,

Gholami,

Shadloo

et al. 2024

Addiction

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Background and amsDespite the evident public health impact, the extent and patterns of alcohol use in the Eastern Mediterranean countries remain understudied. The latest estimation for the last 12‐month use of alcohol in the region was 2.9% in 2016 by the World Health Organization. We reviewed the main indicators for alcohol consumption in the region since 2010.MethodsWe systematically searched on‐line databases until September 2023, together with other global and regional sources for studies on the adult general population (aged ≥ 15 years) and young general populations (aged < 18 years) and studies on the treatment‐seeking individuals with substance use in Eastern Mediterranean countries. Studies were included from 22 countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.ResultsA total of 148 were included (n = 95 on the prevalence of alcohol use, n = 46 on the prevalence of alcohol use disorder, regular use and heavy episodic drinking, n = 35 on alcohol use pattern among people who use substances and one report on alcohol per capita consumption, n = 29 had data for more than one category). The pooled prevalence of the last 12‐month alcohol use in the adult general population was 9.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 6.4–13.7] among males, 2.8% (95% CI = 1.3–5.5\) among females and 6.2% (95% CI = 3.9–9.6) in both sexes in the region, with notable subregional variations. Data on the prevalence of alcohol use disorder and heavy drinking were limited to several countries, with heterogeneous indicators. The pooled estimate of alcohol as the primary substance of use among treatment‐seeking people who used substances was 16.9% (95% CI = 8.8–26.9).ConclusionsMore than 30 million adults in the Eastern Mediterranean region used alcohol in the last 12 months, with a prevalence of 6.2%. This is far fewer than the global estimate of 43% of the population aged 15 years and above, but is approximately two times more than the previous estimate (2.9%), reported by the World Health Organization in 2016, which might show an increasing trend.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%