risk-taking behaviors among students of ardabil university of medical sciences, iran

Background: risk behaviors can increase the risk of early mortality, disability, and chronic illness. objectives: this study aimed to determine risktaking behaviors in students of ardabil university of medical sciences in 2018. methods: a crosssectional study was conducted with 215 students selected using a stratified sampling method. the selfadministered iranian youth risktaking scale (iyrts), consisting of 48 items, was used for data collection. data were analyzed by spss 19 using the chisquare test. p values of< 0.05 were considered statistically significant. results: the mean age of male and female students was 21.4 ± 1.92 and 20.9 ± 1.38 years, respectively. the rates of a history of physical violence, cigarette smoking, waterpipe smoking, alcohol use, and drug abuse were 37.7%, 37.2%, 47.9%, 33%, and 25.6%, respectively, and all were higher in male students (p< 0.05). methylphenidate, ecstasy, and tramadol were the most prevalent drugs used by the students. physical inactivity was not different between male and female students (p = 0.42). conclusions: in the present study, we found high consumption of cigarettes, waterpipe, alcohol, and drugs, as well as physical inactivity among the students.