Individual and Social Determinants of Water-Pipe Smoking among Medical Student at King Saud University

Individual and social determinants of water-pipe smoking among medical student at King Saud University Dr. Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah bin Saeed1, Ahmed Nagshbandi2, Yazeed Aleid3, Fahad Almousa 4 1- Corresponding Author, Family Medicine Consultant, the Deputy Minister of Health for Public Health.2, 3, 4- Co-authors, Medical Interns, King Saud University, College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Several factors may contribute to the rising of water-pipe smoking. Objectives Several factors may contribute to the rising of water pipe smoking. The objectives of our study were to determine the prevalence, individual and social factors of water pipe smoking among undergraduate medical students of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive/analytical study was done among a representative sample of 408 male and female undergraduate medical students. A simple random sampling method was used to select the participants. A self-administered questionnaire was constructed based on the National Youth Tobacco Survey in the United States. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the data. Results The prevalence of water-pipe smoking among medical students was 11.8 % for males and 2 % for females. Factors associated with water pipe smoking were water pipe smoking among siblings (OR=6.6, 95 % CI = 2.3 18.2), parents (OR=4.6, 95 % CI = 1.7 12.0), and close-friend (OR=65.7, 95 % CI = 8.8 490.0). The odds of water pipe smoking among the 5th year students were five times higher (OR = 5.5, 95 % CI = 1.4 24.6) compared to other years. Students whose parents were widowed had 4.2-fold (95 % CI = 1.2- 13.7) odds of water pipe smoking compared to students with full families. Conclusion Social determinants, such as water pipe smoking among siblings, parents and close friends, as well as individual factors such as a years of a study and parental marital status were associated with water pipe smoking among undergraduate medical students. Our finding can potentially improve tobacco control programs in Saudi Arabia and decrease the prevalence of water pipe smoking among students.