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Abstract
Background
This systematic review evaluated the available medical literature on the prevalence and trends of waterpipe tobacco smoking among adolescents and youth in jurisdictionally representative populations.
Methods
PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched for relevant studies from inception until 31 December 2022 that reported the burden of waterpipe smoking among adolescents and youth (10–24 years of age). We extracted qualitative data on the demographic characteristics, burden, and correlates of waterpipe smoking (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022310982).
Results
A total of 2,197 articles were screened and 62 were included in the analysis. The majority (29) of the studies was from the United States of America and there were no studies from the south-east Asian region. The prevalence of ever waterpipe smoking among the 10–24 years age group was noted to be 18.16% (95% CI, 18.03–18.29). The prevalence of current (30-day) waterpipe smoking was 6.43% (95% CI, 6.34–6.50). The age of initiation of waterpipe smoking was variable. The prevalence of waterpipe smoking was higher among males, among those who belong to the high- and middle-income groups, and among university students. The common risk factors of waterpipe smoking included cigarette smoking, alcohol, and substance use. Waterpipe smoking resulted in increased susceptibility to the use of conventional forms of tobacco (e.g. smoking) among those who were never smokers.
Conclusion
Waterpipe smoking usage was significantly high among adolescents and young adults. Developing regulatory guidelines for water-pipe smoking, surveillance of its use, intervention, and specific policy frameworks may be considered a public health priority.
Acknowledgments
Dr. Roy Daniels, Senior Resident, Centre for Community Medicine, The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, for identifying Key words.
Declaration of interest
The authors declare there is no Complete of Interest at this study.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare no competing interests.
Authors’ contributions
SSB conceptualized the review; SSB and HP drafted the study protocol; HP, DM, SS, and AS were involved in the literature search and study selection; SSB, SD, HP, DM, SS, and AS extracted data from the included studies; SD and SS performed the risk of bias analyses; HP, DM, and AS were involved in disagreement resolutions at all stages; SS and CRH performed all qualitative synthesis; SSB, SD, and SS interpreted the analyses; SSB, SD, CRH, and SS drafted the review; PCG, JKC, LS, PS, VGM, and SRG provided guidance, expert inputs, and updated the final review. All authors had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the main article/supplementary material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.