Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, at the end of 2019. The COVID-19 incidence of new cases and fatality has continued to fast-track. The mental state and well-being of entire societies are severely suffering from this crisis and are a precedence to be immediately addressed. Objective To assess mental health disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic among university students, Southwest, Ethiopia, 2020/2021. Method Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Pretested self-administered a structured questionnaire was used. Depression, anxiety, and stress were measured by depression, anxiety, stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Data were arrived by Epi Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were applied. In multivariate logistic regression; p-value < .05 at 95% CI was declared as significant. Results Seven hundred ten university students with 95.6% of the response rate participated in the study. Of the participants, 91.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24 years, and 57.2% were male. The magnitude of anxiety, depression, and stress was 35.1%, 30.0%, and 38.2%, respectively. In this study, age [Formula: see text] 25years, easy access to handwashing facilities, relative death due to COVID-19, wearing a face mask, a program of education, marital status, worried about academic activities, and family psychiatric history were predictors for mental health disorders and insomnia was a predictor of both anxiety and depression during COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion In this study, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was above one-third, which was higher than the previous studies done in the country. Therefore, the continuing increase in new cases of disease infectivity and fatality throughout the country, providing psychological counseling, and developing coping strategies to predictors are important to prevent mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTIONKhat use occurs in all segments of all societies, which results in decreased work and school performance, and absenteeism.1 Presently, the worldwide consumption of khat can be estimated at some 5-10 million people per day, though it is nearly completely limited to East Africa and south western Arabia.2 Khat use is prevalent in three countries of the Region, namely Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen. It is variously estimated that in these countries, about 60 % -80 % of the adults consume Khat on a daily basis. Its use is rising in reputation, with extensive social and economic effects such as shifting of crop patterns in favor of Khat growth.3 From a total of Khat chewers who lives in three towns in south-western Uganda, The secondary school and the college student's account 9.2 % ABSTRACT Background: Khat is one of the shrub plants with an amphetamine-like stimulant effect. Khat use occurs in all segments of all societies, which results in decreased work and school performance, and absenteeism. This study therefore is aimed to determine the prevalence of Khat abuse and identifying their associated factors among Jimma University. Method: Sample size is 620 students. The study was done by using a multistage sampling technique. Results: Out of 620 students, 150 (24.2 %) males and 15 (2.4 %) females were ever chewer. Of which 129 (20.8 %) males and 13 (2.1) of females had chewed in the last 12month. From the total of 142 students who chewed in the last 12 month, low risk chewer and dependent were 24 (3.9 %) and 7 (1.1 %) respectively. Out of 111 Khat abusers 21(50 %), 25 (59.5 %), 7 (16.7 %) and 2 (4.8 %) of them had used cigarette, Alcohol, Shisha and Hashish respectively. Among Khat abusers, 51 (45.9 %) were chewing on daily base, 40 (36.1 %) weekly, 10 (9 %) monthly, 7 (6.3 %) occasionally and 3 (2.7 %) others. The amount of Khat chewed at a time was estimated per cost in birr, and 87 (78.4 %) of the abusers chewed Khat that costs more than 20 birr per ceremony. Different reasons for chewing Khat were mentioned by Khat abusers. The major reason mentioned was to get concentration 50 (50.5 %) followed by relaxation 32 (29.9%). Discussion: Khat abuse is prevalent among undergraduate students of Jimma University. Khat abuse is significantly associated with male gender, pocket money, faculty Khat use habit among family members. Most students use Khat to get concentration.

Introduction Epilepsy is a widespread neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures; it contributes to 1% of the global burden of diseases and can end in cognitive impairment. Objective To assess the magnitude and associated factors of cognitive impairment among patients with epilepsy. Method The study utilized an institution-based cross-sectional study design. All patients with epilepsy whose ages were above 18 years were the source population. The authors performed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Finally, variables with a p-value <.05 were significantly associated. Result The magnitude of cognitive impairment is 25.6%. Having no family history of epilepsy (AOR=0.12; 95% CI [0.02, 0.61]), polytherapy (AOR=5.14; 95% CI [1.12, 23.62]), and medication-related complaints (AOR=8.24; 95% CI [1.87, 36.38]) were strongly associated with cognitive impairment. Conclusion Significant numbers of patients were positive for cognitive impairment. Family history, polytherapy, and medication-related complaints were associated factors.

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