Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Nov;116(11):2968-2977.
doi: 10.1111/add.15449. Epub 2021 Mar 11.

A meta-analysis of problem gambling risk factors in the general adult population

Youssef Allami  1   2 , David C Hodgins  3 , Matthew Young  4   5 , Natacha Brunelle  6 , Shawn Currie  3 , Magali Dufour  7 , Marie-Claire Flores-Pajot  4 , Louise Nadeau  8
Affiliations
Review

A meta-analysis of problem gambling risk factors in the general adult population

Youssef Allami et al. Addiction. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Background and aims: Few meta-analyses have been conducted to pool the most constant risk factors for problem gambling. The present meta-analysis summarizes effect sizes of the most frequently assessed problem gambling risk factors, ranks them according to effect size strength and identifies any differences in effects across genders.

Method: A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted on jurisdiction-wide gambling prevalence surveys on the general adult population published until March 2019. One hundred and four studies were eligible for meta-analysis. The number of participants varied depending on the risk factor analyzed, and ranged from 5327 to 273 946 (52% female). Weighted mean odds ratios were calculated for 57 risk factors (socio-demographic, psychosocial, gambling activity and substance use correlates), allowing them to be ranked from largest to smallest with regard to their association with problem gambling.

Results: The highest odds ratio (OR) was for internet gambling [OR = 7.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.24, 10.99, P < 0.000] and the lowest was for employment status (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.87, 1.22, P = 0.718). The largest effect sizes were generally in the gambling activity category and the smallest were in the socio-demographic category. No differences were found across genders for age-associated risk.

Conclusions: A meta-analysis of 104 studies of gambling prevalence indicated that the most frequently assessed problem gambling risk factors with the highest effect sizes are associated with continuous-play format gambling products.

Keywords: Epidemiology; gambling; gambling disorder; general population; meta-analysis; odds ratio; problem gambling; relative risk; risk factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Williams R. J., Volberg R. A., Stevens R. M. The Population Prevalence of Problem Gambling: Methodological Influences, Standardized Rates, Jurisdictional Differences, and Worldwide Trends. Thunder Bay, ON: Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre; 2012.
    1. Hing N., Russell A., Tolchard B., Nower L. Risk factors for gambling problems: an analysis by gender. J Gambl Stud 2016; 32: 511–534. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Raylu N., Oei T. P. S. Pathological gambling: a comprehensive review. Clin Psychol Rev 2002; 22: 1009–1061. - PubMed
    1. Johansson A., Grant J. E., Kim S. W., Odlaug B. L., Götestam K. G. Risk factors for problematic gambling: a critical literature review. J Gambl Stud 2009; 25: 67–92. - PubMed
    1. Dowling N. A., Merkouris S. S., Greenwood C. J., Oldenhof E., Toumbourou J. W., Youssef G. J. Early risk and protective factors for problem gambling: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of longitudinal studies. Clin Psychol Rev 2017; 51: 109–124. - PubMed