REVIEW Alcohol consumption in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature MARYAM CHEGENI 1 , ATIYEH KAMEL KHODABANDEH 2 , MOHAMMAD KARAMOUZIAN 1,3,4 , MOSTAFA SHOKOOHI 1,5,6 , LEILI ABEDI 1 , MALAHAT KHALILI 1 , LEILA RAJAEI 7 , GELAYOL ARDALAN 7 & HAMID SHARIFI 1 1 HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, 2 Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, 3 School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 4 British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, Vancouver, Canada, 5 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, 6 Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, and 7 Adolescent and Youth Health Office, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Abstract Issues. Alcohol production, marketing and consumption are illegal in Iran. This systematic review examines the lifetime and last 12-month prevalence of alcohol consumption among the general and young population in Iran. Approach. We searched Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Iranian scientific databases (i.e. Scientific Information Database and Magiran) for relevant publications in English and Persian from inception to 12 May 2019. Following a random-effects meta- analysis, we estimated the pooled prevalence of alcohol consumption among the general population and young people (<30 years old). Meta-regression was used to identify potential sources of heterogeneity. Key Findings. Of the 2400 identi- fied records, 62 met the inclusion criteria. The overall pooled prevalence of lifetime alcohol consumption among the general population and young people was 13.0% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 10.0, 16.0]. The overall pooled prevalence of last 12-month alcohol consumption was 12.0% (95% CI 7.0, 18.0) for the general population and 15.0% (95% CI 9.0, 22.0) for young people. The prevalence of alcohol consumption varied from 0.03% to 68.0% in different regions, 0.3% to 66.6% among males and 0.2% to 21.0% among females. Implications. Our findings highlight the need for public health surveil- lance of alcohol use in Iran. Conclusion. These estimates show that, on average, one in eight people in the general popula- tion have ever consumed alcohol in Iran, indicating that alcohol consumption is not an uncommon practice in the country. [Chegeni M, Kamel Khodabandeh A, Karamouzian M, Shokoohi M, Abedi L, Khalili M, Rajaei L, Ardalan G, Sharifi H. Alcohol consumption in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. Drug Alcohol Rev 2020] Key words: alcohol, prevalence, systematic review, public health, Iran. Introduction Alcohol consumption remains a major public health problem worldwide. Globally, an estimated 2.84 mil- lion alcohol-attributable deaths occurred in 2017 [1]. According to the Global Burden of Disease reports in 2016, alcohol consumption was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and disability-adjusted life years, accounting for 2.2% and 6.8% of age- standardised deaths for men and women, respectively Maryam Chegeni MSc, PhD Student, Atiyeh Kamel Khodabandeh MSc, Research Assistant, Mohammad Karamouzian DVM, MSc, PhD Student, Mostafa Shokoohi MSc, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Leili Abedi MSc, PhD Student, Malahat Khalili MSc, PhD Student, Leila Rajaei MSc, Research Coordinator, Gelayol Ardalan MD, Pediatrician, Hamid Sharifi DVM, PhD, Associate Professor. Correspondence to: Dr Hamid Sharifi, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Haft Bagh-e-Alavi Highway, Kerman 7616911320, Iran. Tel: +98(0)3431325499; E-mail: hsharifi@kmu.ac.ir; sharifihami@gmail.com. Received 26 October 2019; accepted for publication 15 April 2020. © 2020 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs REVIEW Drug and Alcohol Review (2020) DOI: 10.1111/dar.13093