Knowledge of healthy lifestyle in Iran: a systematic review.
BACKGROUND
Lifestyle is a set of goals, plans, values, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs manifested in the personal and family life of the individual and in her or his social interactions. It is an interdisciplinary concept that involves a health-oriented view of the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains of life. Despite their great importance, there is not much knowledge in Iran about healthy lifestyles. The present study is an attempt to address the knowledge of healthy lifestyle in Iran through a review of the literature on the subject.


METHODS
The present systematic review searched Elsevier, SID, Pub Med, Magiran, IranMedex, and Google Scholar databases for relevant articles published between 2000 and 2014. We used various keywords for the searches, including knowledge, lifestyle, health, and Iran. As a result, 62 articles were included in the study.


RESULTS
There has been a dramatic increase in the publication of articles on lifestyle in Iran over the past 10 years. The results obtained showed that 64% of the articles addressed physical health, 14% addressed psychological health, 10% addressed social health, and 12% addressed spiritual health. Most lifestyle studies conducted in Iran have focused on physical health, and a few have examined the psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of lifestyle. None of the studies has examined the knowledge map of healthy lifestyles in Iran.


CONCLUSIONS
Given the changes in the causes of mortality from infectious and chronic diseases that impose greater medication and treatment costs on the society, and since diseases caused by unhealthy lifestyles have become the leading cause of death, it is essential for health researchers to focus on the root cause of these diseases, i.e., lifestyle and human behaviors.
Ph.D., Professor, Chemical Injuries Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mostafa
M
Ghanei
Ph.D. of Psychology, Professor, Behavioral Sciences Research Center. Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Khodabakhsh
K
Ahmady
Ph.D. Student, Health Management Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Mansour
M
Babaei
Ph.D. Professor in Medical Microbiology, Health Management Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ali Mehrabi
AM
Tavana
Ph.D., Associate Professor of Health Services Management, Health Management Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammadkarim
M
Bahadori
Ph.D. in Nursing Education, Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, 6 Floor, Nursing Faculty, Tehran, Iran.
Abbas
A
Ebadi
Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Imam Hossein Comprehensive University, Tehran, Iran.
Syed Masood
SM
Poursaid
Iran; health; knowledge map; lifestyle; systematic review