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Psychiatric disorders and associated risky behaviors among Iranian university students: results from the Iranian PDABs survey

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Abstract

Background

Young adults not only face somatic and psychiatric disorders but they also engage in risky behaviors. The aim of this study was to address the association between psychiatric disorders and multiple health-risk behaviors.

Methods

This study reports on a national survey of psychiatric disorders and addictive behaviors (PDABs) among 4261 Iranian university students from 13 medical science universities throughout Iran in 2017. The outcome of interest was psychiatric disorders, and the evaluated health-risk behaviors were cigarette smoking during the past month, using any kind of illicit drugs during the past month, drinking alcohol during the past month, having unprotected sexual intercourse during the past year, having suicidal ideation during the past month, attempting suicide in the past year, and Internet addiction.

Results

Of the 4261 university students, 1655 (39%) had a certain level of psychiatric disorder and 1590 (37.3%) had engaged in at least one risky behavior. There was a significant association between psychiatric disorder and female gender [odds ratio (OR) = 1.40; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22, 1.61], single status (OR = 2.01; 95% CI 1.66, 2.44), illicit drug abuse (OR = 2.42; 95% CI 1.75, 3.33), suicidal ideation (OR = 3.03; 95% CI 1.98, 4.64), suicide attempt (OR = 2.53; 95% CI 1.62, 3.97), lack of future goal clarity (OR = 2.41; 95% CI 2.06, 2.82), and Internet addiction (OR = 5.16; 95% CI 3.79, 7.04).

Conclusions

More than one-third of the students not only have a certain type of psychiatric disorder but also engage in at least one risky behavior.

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Acknowledgements

This study was part of an MSc thesis in epidemiology. We would like to thank the Modeling of Non-communicable Diseases Research Center and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology of the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences for their approval of this work.

Funding

The Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, funded this study (grant no. 9511126676). This deputy had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Jamal Ahmadpoor, Younes Mohammadi & Jalal Poorolajal

  2. Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Jamal Ahmadpoor

  3. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Younes Mohammadi

  4. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Ali Reza Soltanian

  5. Modeling of Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Ali Reza Soltanian

  6. Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, 65178-38695, Iran

    Jalal Poorolajal

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  1. Jamal Ahmadpoor
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  2. Younes Mohammadi
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  3. Ali Reza Soltanian
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  4. Jalal Poorolajal
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Contributions

JA contributed to the study design, acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data, and critical revision. YM and ARS contributed to the study design and critical revision. JP contributed to the study conception and design, analysis and interpretation of data, and drafting of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jalal Poorolajal.

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Disclosures and declarations

The Ethics Committee of the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences approved the study (IR.UMSHA.REC.1395.433).

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.

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Ahmadpoor, J., Mohammadi, Y., Soltanian, A.R. et al. Psychiatric disorders and associated risky behaviors among Iranian university students: results from the Iranian PDABs survey. J Public Health (Berl.) 29, 1197–1204 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-020-01229-8

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