
Afarin Rahimi-MovagharTehran University of Medical Sciences | TUMS · Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS)
Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar
MD, MPH, Professor of psychiatry
About
198
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Publications
Publications (198)
Background
Social capital has long been recognized as a determinant of various health outcomes. However, the existence and magnitude of these associations may vary across different health conditions, different communities, and periods. This study aimed to investigate the association between social capital and major depressive disorder (MDD) among p...
Background
Mental and behavioural disorders account for a large proportion of the burden of diseases in Iran. Identifying the pattern of change can help in policy making and provision of mental health services. We aimed to analyse the burden of mental disorders (excluding substance use disorders) in Iran at national and subnational levels with data...
Introduction
Low socioeconomic status (SES) is identified as a pivotal risk factor for mental health. Objective socioeconomic status (OSS) is measured by tangible resources, whereas subjective social status (SSS) reflects an individual’s perception of their OSS. A paucity of literature exists that elucidates the specific psychosocial mechanisms or...
Background: The validity of self-reported methamphetamine use among treatment-seeking patients has been reported as inconsistent and therefore inconclusive. Objectives: To evaluate the validity of self-reported methamphetamine use versus urinalysis in patients with methamphetamine use disorder at a drug treatment center. Methods: In this cross-sect...
Addiction medicine is a dynamic field that encompasses clinical practice and research in the context of societal, economic, and cultural factors at the local, national, regional, and global levels. This field has evolved profoundly during the past decades in terms of scopes and activities with the contribution of addiction medicine scientists and p...
Background and ams
Despite the evident public health impact, the extent and patterns of alcohol use in the Eastern Mediterranean countries remain understudied. The latest estimation for the last 12‐month use of alcohol in the region was 2.9% in 2016 by the World Health Organization. We reviewed the main indicators for alcohol consumption in the reg...
Background
The extent of illicit drug use among university students necessitates effective preventive programs. To identify and assess the effectiveness of university-based interventions in preventing or reducing illicit drug use.
Methods
The MEDLINE (PubMed), SCOPUS, ISI (Web of Science), and other sources were searched according to the Cochrane...
Background
Number of opiate users worldwide has doubled over the past decade, but not all of them are diagnosed with opioid use disorder. We aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors for OUD after ten years of follow-up.
Methods
Among 8,500 chronic opiate users at Golestan Cohort Study baseline (2004–2008), we recalled a random sample of 4...
Background:
Opium use has been associated with an increased risk of cancers of the lung, oesophagus, and pancreas, and it was recently classified by the International Agency for Cancer Research as carcinogenic to humans. It is not clear whether opium also increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of our study was to assess the associa...
Background
Number of opiate users worldwide has doubled over the past decade, but not all of them are diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD). We aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors for OUD after ten years of follow-up.
Methods
Among 8,500 chronic opiate users at Golestan Cohort Study baseline (2004–2008), we recalled a random sampl...
Background
Drug use, especially injecting drug use, is associated with a higher risk of tuberculosis (TB). This study aimed to systematically review the prevalence of TB among people who use drugs (PWUD) in Iran.
Methods
A systematic search was conducted in international and national databases. All studies that provided data on the prevalence of T...
Objective:
Gaming motivations are a central aspect of playing video games, and their importance to understanding both healthy and problematic gaming behavior has been increasingly elucidated. In this study, we aimed to translate the 18-item Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS-18) to Persian and validate it in a population of Persian speaking gamers, spe...
Background: Considerable disease burden is attributed to injecting drug use (IDU). This regional systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of IDU and the characteristics of people who inject drugs in the 22 countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the...
Background
The pattern of substance use in Iran is characterized by a high prevalence of opioid use and opioid use disorder (OUD). Although opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) has been introduced in Iran, approximately 50% of people with opioid use disorder remain unreached. Moreover, psychosocial treatment of OUD and common mental health symptoms dur...
Background: Aggression and suicide attempt are behaviors that affect public health. To better understand the nature of these behaviors, the present study was conducted to investigate the concurrence of suicide attempt and aggression in young people. This study sought to identify those factors which contribute to the co-occurrence of suicide attempt...
Background:
The pattern of substance use in Iran is characterized by a high prevalence of opioid use and opioid use disorder (OUD). Although opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) has been introduced in Iran, approximately 50% of people with opioid use disorder remain unreached. Moreover, psychosocial treatment of OUD and common mental health symptoms du...
Background: From a psychological perspective, aggressive behavior, non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal behavior could be considered dysfunctional coping strategies. Poor sleep patterns may further increase such dysfunctional coping. In contrast, regular physical activity may have the power to counteract such dysfunctional coping. Given this backg...
Background: Despite the increased use of methamphetamine, little is known about its adverse events in developing countries. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the adverse events of methamphetamine use in Iran. Methods: A total of 29 subjects who were recruited in the Iranian Mental Health Survey (IranMHS, a 2011 national household survey)...
Background:
Assessment of quality and cost of medical care has become a core health policy concern. We conducted a nationwide survey to assess these measures in Iran as a developing country. To present the protocol for the Iran Quality of Care in Medicine Program (IQCAMP) study, which estimates the quality, cost, and utilization of health services...
The carcinogenicity of opium consumption was recently evaluated by a Working Group convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). We supplement the recent IARC evaluation by conducting an extended systematic review as well as a quantitative meta-analytic assessment of the role of opium consumption and risk for selected cancers,...
Drug use is an increasing global public health concern. We reviewed the prevalence and patterns of drug use, drug use disorders, and the extent of treatment services in 21 countries and one territory in the Eastern Mediterranean region from 2010 to 2022. Online databases were systematically searched on April 17, 2022, along with other sources for g...
Background: Frequent cannabis use is associated with adverse health-related outcomes. This study followed up individuals who
used cannabis to assess their use and adverse event status.
Methods: The eligible individuals, recruited in the Iranian Mental Health Survey (IranMHS), were contacted via telephone calls six
years after the index interview...
Nikoo and colleagues found significantly higher adverse events (AEs) among opioid use disorder patients receiving opium tincture (OT) compared with methadone. These findings differ from previous studies using OT and another morphine-based medication, slow-release oral morphine, indicating lower AEs compared with methadone, and suggest a need for fu...
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of lifetime, last year, and last month use of illicit drugs (opioids, cannabis, stimulants, and hallucinogens) and associated factors among the first to fourth-year students at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran.
Method: The sampling method was multi-stage cluster sampling. An...
We present a 37-year-old male who misuses 12 grams of gabapentin per day associated with dependence and withdrawal. He had a previous history of opioid use disorder (OUD) which has been in remission. An outpatient gradual dose reduction regimen was tried and failed and the patient decided to discontinue gabapentin abruptly. Symptomatic medication t...
Addiction medicine is a dynamic field that encompasses clinical practice and research in the context of societal, economic, and cultural factors at the local, national, regional, and global levels. This field has evolved profoundly during the past decades in terms of scopes and activities with the contribution of addiction medicine scientists and p...
Addiction medicine is a dynamic field that encompasses clinical practice and research in the context of societal, economic, and cultural factors at the local, national, regional, and global levels. This field has evolved profoundly during the past decades in terms of scopes and activities with the contribution of addiction medicine scientists and p...
Opium use was recently classified as a human carcinogen for lung cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. We conducted a large, multicenter case‐control study evaluating the association between opium use and the risk of lung cancer. We recruited 627 cases and 3477 controls from May 2017 to July 2020. We used unconditional logistic...
In this brief letter, we report a new World Health Organization
(WHO)-led project developing gold standard instruments to detect
gaming disorder and gambling disorder following their inclusion in the
‘disorders due to addictive behaviours’ section of the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)
Objective:
Gaming motivations are crucial aspects of healthy and problematic video gaming behavior. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the widely used Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ).
Methods:
Test-retest reliability was evaluated in a sample of 66 university students. Data from 791 participants in...
One in eight adults in Iran is estimated to have major depressive disorder (MDD) – a leading cause of disability in the country. Many remain undiagnosed, and some receive only partial treatment. An estimated 60% of those with MDD were reported to have received no treatment during the past year. In this paper, we have critically reviewed the current...
Background:
Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most common type of cancer worldwide and the fourth most common type of cancer in Iran. Opium use is considered as one of the risk factors for BC. We aim to assess the association between various parameters of opium use, which in Iran is mainly ingested or smoked in various forms, and the risk of BC.
Me...
Background
There has been a marked growth in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Iran in the past two decades with positive health outcomes. We conducted a systematic review of studies on the prevalence of non-prescribed methadone use, methadone use disorder, and methadone-related poisoning and mortality in Iran.
Methods
We searched Internati...
While the problematic use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) has been observed in some individuals, few validated and widely accepted measures are available to assess and screen for problematic use. This is an attempt at adapting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–based Internet Gaming Disorder Test-10 (IGDT-10) measure to asse...
Background and Aims
There is a paucity of data on outcomes of opioid use disorder (OUD) from low and middle-income countries. We aimed to investigate the mortality as well as negative social and health outcomes in a 6-year follow-up study of a cohort of individuals with opioid use including those with OUD, in Iran.
Design and setting
Participants w...
Online gaming may be associated with adverse outcomes in a minority of players. While some suggest that pathological patterns of online gaming are a public health concern in Iran, the evidence on pathological gaming among Iranian online gamers remains scarce. This study aims to investigate the patterns, motivations, and correlates of pathological o...
Background
Comorbid alcohol and illicit drug use disorder is relatively prevalent . We aimed to assess the prevalence, pattern, and associated factors of alcohol use disorder among treatment-seeking individuals with drug use disorders in Iran.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional study, conducted on 387 male patients from residential drug treatment...
Issues
This systematic review aimed to provide an updated estimate on the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among non-injecting people who use drugs (PWUD) and the various subgroups and the odds of HIV infection in the injecting compared to non-injecting PWUD.
Approach
A comprehensive search of international, regional and...
Background and Aims: The objectives of the study were (i) cluster analysis of risky behaviors; (ii) determining
correlates; and (iii) comparing clusters with regard to the attitude toward mental health help seeking.
Methods: The current cross‑sectional study is a part of the first phase of the Persian Youth Cohort. From October 2014
to January 2017...
Background
Self-reported substance use is more likely to be influenced by underreporting bias compared to the biological markers. Underreporting bias or validity of self-reported substance use depends on the study population and cannot be generalized to the entire population. This study aimed to compare the validity of self-reported substance use b...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183017.].
Background and aims
Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance globally. In this systematic review, we examined the prevalence and trends of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder in Iran.
Methods
We searched International and Iranian databases up to March 2021. Pooled prevalence of use among sex subgroups of the general population, univer...
Background:
Several factors may influence the validity of self-report. In this study, we aimed to assess the validity of self-reported drug use compared to urine testing among treatment-seeking patients with opioid use disorder (OUD).
Methods:
This cross-sectional study recruited 293 patients with OUD, referred to the Iranian National Center for...
Introduction:
Buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) is widely used in Iran, and its use is growing continuously. We reviewed studies on buprenorphine use, non-prescribed use, use disorder and treatment-seeking for it, buprenorphine-associated poisoning, and mortality in Iran in the current systematic review.
Methods:
An Iranian database (Sci...
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 Menta...
Background : The most common drug, illegally used in Iran is opium. The treatment of people with substance use disorder is one of the most important strategies in reducing its burden. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different increasing and decreasing opium treatment coverage on the patterns of abstinence, transition to heroi...
Background
There is a high prevalence of substance use disorders, especially among men, in Iran and is associated with a high burden on families. We aimed to systematically review the association between illicit drug use and spouse and child abuse in Iran.
Method
Comprehensive terms were used to search three international databases (ISI, Medline,...
Background There are relatively scant data to determine whether hospital visitors could serve as a proper source of controls in substance abuse case-control studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate using neighborhood versus hospital visitor controls in reporting opium use.
Methods We conducted two independent case-control studies of cancer in...
Background:
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently classified opium use as a Group 1 carcinogen. However, much remains to be studied on the relation between opium and cancer. We designed the Iranian Opium and Cancer (IROPICAN) study to further investigate the association of opium use and cancers of the head and neck, bladd...
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is diagnosed using the qualitative criteria defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Diagnostic biomarkers for OUD do not currently exist. Our study focused on developing objective biological markers to differentiate chronic opiate users with OUD from chronic opiate users...
Background
Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) reduces many of the harms associated with opioid dependence. We use mathematical modelling to comprehensively evaluate the overall health benefits of OAT in people who inject drugs in Perry County (KY, USA), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Tehran (Iran).
Methods
We developed a dynamic model of HIV and hepatitis C viru...
Background and aims
Following the recognition of ‘internet gaming disorder’ (IGD) as a condition requiring further study by the DSM‐5, ‘gaming disorder’ (GD) was officially included as a diagnostic entity by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐11). However, the proposed d...
Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most common type of cancer worldwide and the 4th most common type of cancer in Iran. Opium use is considered as one of the risk factors for BC. We aim to assess the association between various parameters of opium use, which in Iran is mainly ingested or smoked in various formats, and the risk of BC.
Meth...
Background:
People who use drugs (PWUD) are considered as one of the main at-risk populations for Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We conducted a systematic review on the prevalence of HBV infection among PWUD in Iran.
Methods:
Consistent with PRISMA guideline, international (Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase) and national (Scientifi...
Scant evidence exists to support the association of opium use with head and neck cancer, limited to the larynx and oral cavity. In a multicenter case‐control study—Iran Opium and Cancer study, we recruited 633 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (254 lip and oral cavity, 54 pharynx, 327 larynx and 28 other subsites within the hea...
Background
The HIV prevention cascade complements the HIV treatment cascade and helps evaluate the access to and use of harm reduction programs among HIV-negative individuals at risk for HIV, including people who inject drugs (PWID). This study aimed to estimate the HIV prevention cascades among PWID in Iran.
Methods
Using data from the 2014 natio...
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have introduced steps such as spatial distancing and “staying at home” to curb its spread and impact. The fear resulting from the disease, the ‘lockdown’ situation, high levels of uncertainty regarding the future, and financial insecurity raise the level of stress, anxiety, and depression exp...
Background:
This qualitative study was undertaken with the aim to identify the reasons for sharing syringes or needles among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Iran.
Methods:
We used purposive sampling to recruit 4 groups of participants, male PWID (n = 14), female PWID (n = 6), service providers (n = 8), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ad...
Background and Aims
Misuse of tramadol, an opioid prescription analgesic, is known as a public health challenge globally. We aimed to systematically review studies on the prevalence of non‐prescribed use, regular tramadol use and dependence, tramadol‐induced poisoning and mortality in Iran.
Methods
Consistent with PRISMA guidelines, international...
Backgrounds and aims:
Iran has 2.1 and 1.8 percent of its 15-64 years old population living with illicit substance and opioid use disorders, respectively. To address these problems, Iran has been developing a large and multi-modality addiction treatment system, spanning the time before and after the Islamic revolution.
Methods:
Iran's current dr...
Aims:
In Iran, injecting drug use has been the major route of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. In order to control the HIV epidemic, a harm reduction program was initiated and expanded in recent years. The aim of this study was to provide an updated estimate of HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Iran, investigat...
We summarise the evidence for medicinal uses of opioids, harms related to the extramedical use of, and dependence on, these drugs, and a wide range of interventions used to address these harms. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study estimated that in 2017, 40·5 million people were dependent on opioids (95% uncertainty inter...
Background:
Measuring the amount of opium use is a challenge in epidemiologic studies. Self-report of amount of opium use at each consumption, widely used in the literature, usually fails to provide a good estimate. The purpose of this study is to systematically study the perceived weight units of reported opium use in Iran, and compare them to th...
Purpose of Review
The 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) categorizes gambling disorder in the section on substance-related and addictive disorders, and the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) includes both gambling and gaming disorder as disorders due to addictive beha...
Background:
Mental disorders contribute significantly to the burden of diseases in Iran. Therefore, the current study aims to assess the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and their associated factors among youth in Kermanshah province of Iran.
Methods:
The current study is a part of the first phase of Ravansar Cohort (a part of the PERSIAN You...
Background: The current study aimed at determining the pattern of drug dependence and its related factors in mid-term residential treatment centers (MTRCs).
Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted on all drug dependent people residing in MTRCs of Tehran, Iran, who were voluntarily seeking treatment from April to August, 2018. Requi...
Background and aims:
It is important to incorporate a screening test for unhealthy alcohol use into primary and other health care settings. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is one of the most commonly used of such tests. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of AUDIT,...
Background: Mental disorders contribute significantly to the burden of diseases in Iran. Therefore, the current study aims to assess the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and their associated factors among youth in Kermanshah province of Iran. Methods: The current study is a part of the first phase of Ravansar Cohort (a part of the PERSIAN Youth...
Background:
Globally, HCV testing, linkage to care and treatment is sub-optimal among people who use drugs (PWUD). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an innovative intervention to enhance HCV testing, linkage to care, and treatment initiation among PWUD in Tehran, Iran.
Methods:
ENHANCE is a non-randomized trial evaluating the effect of...
Being the second-largest country in the Middle East, Iran has a long history of civilisation during which several dynasties have been overthrown and established and health-related structures have been reorganised. Iran has had the replacement of traditional practices with modern medical treatments, emergence of multiple pioneer scientists and physi...