International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-78021142020051922622262ENStudent Health Services, Health Center of Tarbiat Modares University, TehranElderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, TehranSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, MashhadNon‑Communicable Disease Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, TehranDepartment of Psychology, Shahed University, TehranDepartment of Health Sciences Education Development, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, TehranDepartment of Physical and Sport Medicine Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Tehran University, TehranElderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, TehranSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad & Non‑Communicable Disease Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran20200519<p><span class="fontstyle0"><strong>Background</strong>: </span><span class="fontstyle2">Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease with regressive episodic symptoms. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of asthma ever (lifetime prevalence of asthma) and the associated factors among newly entered students in public universities in Iran. </span></p><p><strong></strong><span class="fontstyle0"><strong>Methods</strong>: </span><span class="fontstyle2">This population‑based cross‑sectional study was part of the “Mental and Physical Health Assessment of University Students in Iran.” The target population included all newly admitted students (</span><span class="fontstyle3">N </span><span class="fontstyle2">= 151,671) in 74 public universities in 28 provinces (out of the 31 provinces) in Iran. STATA version 12 was used for calculating the descriptive statistics. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to identify relationships between asthma and socioeconomic variables. The level of significance was set at 95% confidence interval. </span></p><p><span class="fontstyle0"><strong>Results</strong>: </span><span class="fontstyle2">Of a total of 79,277 participants, 55.23% (</span><span class="fontstyle3">n </span><span class="fontstyle2">= 43,785) and 44.77% (</span><span class="fontstyle3">n </span><span class="fontstyle2">= 35,492) were female and male, respectively. The prevalence of ever asthma among studied student was 1.89%. Of all the participants with asthma, 88.43% (85.49%–90.84%) were nonsmokers. More than 20% of the subjects were physically inactive. The respondents who revealed smoking &gt;10 cigarettes/week were about 1.22 (1.036–1.437) times more likely to suffer from asthma disease (0.017), as compared with those who were not smoking.<br /></span></p><p><span class="fontstyle0"><strong>Conclusions</strong>: </span><span class="fontstyle2">Our study provides valuable information about the prevalence of asthma ever symptoms among university students in Iran. In fact, the results of this study can fill information gaps concerning the affected groups in Iran, and even worldwide.<br /></span></p><p><span class="fontstyle0" style="color: #00652e;"><strong>Keywords</strong>: </span><span class="fontstyle3">Asthma, Iran, prevalence, students</span></p>http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/2262http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/2262/717718099