Abstract
BACKGROUND: The use of alcohol is an alarmingly growing public health concern worldwide, and it has an impact on younger generations. There are a few large scale and comprehensive nation-wise surveys conducted on the subject matter and study groups. Hence, the purpose of this study was to render strong evidence for policymakers and researchers on the prevalence of alcohol consumption and its associated factors among school adolescents and youths in Ethiopia. METHODS: Systematic searching was conducted using electronic (Medline, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Science direct), and grey literature sources. Cross-sectional studies conducted among adolescents and youths (12-24 years old) were included. Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool was used to assess the quality of studies. Heterogeneity was examined by using forest plot and I(2) heterogeneity tests. Publication bias was also assessed by inspecting the funnel plot and Egger's regression test. Stata/M16.0 for windows was used for the analysis. RESULTS: A total of 26 studies were included in the final analysis with a total of 17,880 participants. The pooled prevalence of current alcohol consumption was 27.0% (95% CI = 22.0-32.0). In the subgroups, the prevalence of current alcohol consumption among high school, college, and university students was 23%, 27%, and 29%, respectively. The pooled data revealed that being a male (odds ratio = 1.93; 95% CI = 1.24-2.99), khat chewing (odds ratio = 6.65; 95% CI = 2.52-17.52), family members alcohol consumption behavior (odds ratio = 3.20; 95% CI = 2.08-5.17), and peer pressure (odds ratio = 3.79; 95% CI = 2.64-5.42) were significantly associated with alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: The pooled analysis of 26 studies indicate that over a quarter of school adolescents and youths consume alcohol in Ethiopia. Hence, we recommend designing and implementing community and school-based intervention programs to tackle the growing problems of alcohol consumption and its multifaceted impacts.