Evidence for an increase in cannabis use in Iran – A systematic review and trend analysis

Rostam–Abadi, Yasna; Gholami, Jaleh; Amin-Esmaeili, Ma­soumeh; Baheshmat, Shahab; Hamzehzadeh, Marziyeh; Rafiemanesh, Hossein; Nasserbakht, Morteza; Ghalichi, Leila; Safarcherati, Anousheh; Taremian, Farhad; Mojtabai, Ramin; Rahimi‐Movaghar, Afarin

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256563

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…In Iran, opioids and mainly opium were traditionally the most commonly used drug in the general population and among university students up to the past decade. During the late 2000s and 2010s, we are facing an increase in the use of cannabis and a decrease in the use of opioids among university students in Iran [20,[34][35][36][37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug Use and its correlated factors among University students in Tehran

Delavari

Olamazadeh

Baheshmat

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of lifetime, last year, and last month use of illicit drugs (opioids, cannabis, stimulants, and hallucinogens) and associated factors among the first to fourth-year students at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Method: The sampling method was multi-stage cluster sampling. Anonymous, self-administered questionnaires used in the previous similar surveys were distributed to 1050 students. We provided prevalence of lifetime, last 12 months, last month, and daily use for the main classes of drugs. We evaluated correlated factors of any drug use in the past 12 months using the bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Overall, 945 students participated in this study. A total of 6.6% reported any illicit drug use in the past 12 months (11.2% among male students vs. 3.1% among female students, P > 0.05). Cannabis was the most used drug in the past year by both male and female students, reported by 4.9% of the participants, followed by methylphenidate (2.9%). Daily use of any illicit drug was reported only by 0.7% of male students and no female students. There was an association between illicit drug use in the past 12 months with smoking cigarettes and using alcohol in the past 12 months and drug use among friends or family members. Conclusions: In general, the prevalence of drug use among the students at Tehran University of Medical Sciences has increased compared to similar previous studies, which call for preventive measures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug Use and its correlated factors among University students in Tehran

Delavari

Olamazadeh

Baheshmat

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…To maximize the search span, key terms related to substance use in Arabic, English, Farsi and French together with country names were searched in Google, and the first 100 records of the search were reviewed (Supporting information, S2). Furthermore, the archives of our research centre, including the reports/studies from previous regional and national situation assessments, were hand‐searched [13,14,17]. Finally, the reference lists of the identified studies and previous systematic reviews were reviewed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…Cannabis is increasingly being used for recreational, medicinal, and industrial purposes [ 29 , 30 ]. In recent years there have been reports of increasing trends in cannabis use prevalence in Iran specifically among youths [ 31 , 32 ]. While cannabis has beneficial properties, it can also cause some concerning health risks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trace element levels: How Substance Use Disorder (SUD) contributes to the alteration of urinary essential and toxic element levels

Mansouri,

Azadi,

Drebadami

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Increasing illicit drug use is one of the main problems in most countries or societies. Monitoring heavy metals and trace elements in this vulnerable group seems to be necessary. Therefore, we assessed the urinary trace element and toxic metals/metalloids concentrations (Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As), Nickel (Ni), and Mercury (Hg)) in opium, tramadol, and cannabis users compared to healthy subjects. In this cross-sectional study, patients with substance use disorder (SUD) (n = 74) were divided into four groups: cannabis, tramadol, opium, and mixed (simultaneous use of more than one of the three studied substances), along with a healthy group (n = 60). Urine samples were prepared by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method so that heavy metals/metalloids could be measured by ICP-MS. The mean urinary concentration of Cu (48.15 vs. 25.45; 89.2%, p<0.001), Hg (1.3 vs. 0.10; 1200%, p < 0.001), and Zn (301.95 vs. 210; 43.8%, p < 0.001) was markedly lower among patients with SUD. The mean urinary concentration of other elements including As (1.9 vs. 4.1; 115.8%), Cd (0.1 vs. 1.10; 1000%), Cr (6.80 vs. 11.65; 71.3%), Ni (2.95 vs. 4.95; 67.8%), and Pb (1.5 vs. 7.9; 426.6%) were significantly higher among patients with SUD compared to healthy subjects. When sub-groups were compared, no significant differences were observed between their trace element levels (Kruskal-Wallis test, p > 0.05). This can be an indication that regardless of the type of drug, the levels of trace elements are changed with respect to healthy individuals. Our results showed that illicit drug use causes changes in urinary trace element/heavy metal/metalloid levels and highlights the need for monitoring heavy metals and trace elements in individuals with substance use disorder. Assessment of different elements in biological samples of drug dependents may be useful for implementing new prevention and treatment protocols. In case of changes in their levels, complementary recommendations, attention to diet, and periodic assessment of toxic metal levels within treatment programs will be needed.

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Evidence for an increase in cannabis use in Iran – A systematic review and trend analysis

Cited by 19 publications

References 52 publications

Drug Use and its correlated factors among University students in Tehran

Drug Use and its correlated factors among University students in Tehran

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

Trace element levels: How Substance Use Disorder (SUD) contributes to the alteration of urinary essential and toxic element levels

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