Assessing risk behaviours in the Iranian general population: results from the Iranian Mental Health Survey

Background The Islamic Republic of Iran is a majority Muslim country, with a culturally low acceptance of high-risk behaviours. Aims To investigate co-occurrence of risk behaviours in the Iranian general population. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from a random subsample of 3508 participants in the Iranian Mental Health Survey conducted in 2011 who completed a self-administered questionnaire about risk behaviours. The latent class analysis was performed on 7 behaviours consisting of cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, opium use, use of other illicit drugs, having multiple sexual partners, imprisonment, and running away from home. Unordered multinomial logistic regression was performed to examine characteristics of participants in the latent classes. Results In the past 12 months, the rates of cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, opium use, and use of other illicit drugs were 19.4%, 6.3%, 4.4%, and 4.2%, respectively. Three classes were identified: 1, a large class with low prevalence of risk behaviours [89.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 88.2-90.2%]; 2, high prevalence of all risk behaviours except drug use (6.1%; 95% CI: 5.3-6.9%); and 3, high prevalence of all risk behaviours (4.7%; 95% CI: 4.1-5.5%). Men and individuals with psychiatric disorders were over-represented in both classes 2 and 3. Conclusion Alcohol consumers and opium users were at risk of other risky behaviours.