ArticleAddictive behaviors reports2021
Prevalence of addictive behaviours among adolescents from 73 low-and middle-income countries.
Article in Addictive behaviors reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Tobacco smoking in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Pooled it
- Adapting mHealth Interventions to Improve Self-Management of HIV and Reduce Substance Use Among Emerging Adults in Zambia: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Trial
- Protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial among young people and their peers to reduce substance use and inequitable gender beliefs in Southern Africa.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Alcohol and other drug use among HIV-affected adolescents and young adults in Zambia: a qualitative study of multilevel drivers and preferences for prevention and treatment approaches.SSM. Mental health · 2026Article
- Prevalence of common mental health disorders and associated factors among adolescents and young people living with HIV in Lusaka, Zambia.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Article
- Prevalence and determinants of tobacco use among school-going adolescents in 53 African countries: Evidence from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey.Addictive behaviors reports · 2025Article
- Psychometric assessment of the Moroccan version of the car, relax, alone, forget, friends, trouble (CRAFFT) scale among adolescent and young adults with a substance use disorder.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- The Nexus of HIV, substance abuse, and mental health among adolescents in Zambia (2021-2023).Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Article
- Article
- Household Income and Subsequent Youth Tobacco Initiation: Minorities' Diminished Returns.Journal of medicine, surgery, and public health · 2024Article
- The war on drugs is a war on us: young people who use drugs and the fight for harm reduction in the Global South.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Forgone healthcare for medically vulnerable groups during the pandemic era: experiences of family caregivers of young adults with substance use disorders in Zambia.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Psychoactive Substance Use Disorder in HIV-Infected Adolescents in Botswana: A Comparison Between the Congenitally Infected and Behaviorally Infected Adolescents.Substance abuse : research and treatment · 2023Article
- Addictive problems among young people in low- and middle-income countries: A call for more research.Addictive behaviors reports · 2022Article
- Family Structure, Unstructured Socializing, and Heavy Substance Use among Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Substance use treatment using cultural arts and 12 steps: Curriculum training and community-led implementation in Zambia.Addictive behaviors reports · 2022Article
- Prevalence of Drug and Substance Use among Malaysian Youth: A Nationwide Survey.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAdolescence is a critical developmental stage for the initiation of substance use worldwide. However, the prevalence of various types of substances consumed by adolescents living in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) across different continents is not fully understood.The aims of the present study were to estimate the prevalence of regular and problematic substance use among adolescents in 73 LMICs across different continents and to explore the role of country-specific factors on this prevalence.
methodData of 314,187 adolescents (52.79% girls; median age = 15 years old) who participated in the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) were analysed. After estimating the weighted prevalence for each country, multilevel models were used to examine the influence of country-specific factors on the prevalence of substance use across 73 LMICs.
resultsThe results indicated that problematic alcohol use was more prevalent in LMICs with higher income levels. The prevalence of regular alcohol use was the highest in Zambia. Regular and problematic alcohol use was the least prevalent in Senegal and Myanmar. The findings also revealed that smoking and the consumption of marijuana and amphetamine were the most common among adolescents in Samoa, whereas the prevalences for these substances were the lowest in Laos.
conclusionEconomic wealth, religion and geographical factors seem to have a role in determining the prevalence of substance use among adolescents in LMICs.
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