Impact of Khat (Catha edulis) Chewing on Carotid Intima-media Thickness

Gameraddin, Moawia; Abdalmalik, Bushra A; Ibrahim, M. Mohsen; Mahmoud, Mustafa Z.; Alshoabi, Sultan Abdulwadoud

doi:10.3923/pjbs.2019.226.230

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Other study reported that longtime khat chewing causes increase intima-media thickness and plaque formation in the carotid artery and this may add another explanation of increased cerebral stroke in khat chewers. [ 24 ]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risks of khat chewing on the cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems

Alshoabi

Hamid

Gameraddin

et al. 2022

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

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Khat is an evergreen plant and its fresh green leaves and buds are chewed for several hours a day for its psychostimulant response. This study aimed to review the effects of khat chewing on the body. PubMed was searched for literature on the different aspects of khat chewing to summarize its effects on different body systems. The major effects of khat chewing are those on the cardiovascular system including increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and increased risk of myocardial infarction. It causes insomnia, stress, depression, hallucination, and increased risk of brain stroke. It causes dental caries, bad oral hygiene, periodontitis, increased oral mucosal ulcers, and increased gingival bleeding and recession. Khat chewing causes loss of appetite, gastritis, constipation, and hemorrhoids, and increased risk of hepatotoxicity and liver cirrhosis. Ultimately, it causes weak micturition, decreased sperm motility and count, and low birth-weight offspring in khat chewing mothers. The published articles about khat chewing in journals indexed in the PubMed was reviewed. Inclusion criteria involved each article available with English language and have a reported new effect of khat chewing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risks of khat chewing on the cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems

Alshoabi

Hamid

Gameraddin

et al. 2022

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

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“…12 The fact that cathinone has a close structural similarity to amphetamine, and both share common pharmacodynamic features, has led to the conclusion that cathinone is an important active ingredient of Khat leaves, which causes the major pharmacologic effects. 13 The common adverse effects of Khat chewing are wide and variable; 14,15 including psychoneurological disturbances, 16,17 vasoconstriction of coronary vasculature, 18 increased carotid intima-media thickness and cerebral stroke, 19 hepatotoxicity in humans 20 and animals. [21][22][23] Other effects such as delayed gastric emptying, 24 delayed intestinal absorption, 25 increased prevalence of duodenal ulcer and gastric H. pylori colonization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between Chewing Khat (Catha edulis) and Hematological Indices and Helicobacter pylori Infection and Blood Loss in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Yemeni Chewers.

Al-Absi,

Al-Dubai,

Al-Ghazaly

et al. 2024

jchm

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Background: The available data on the effect of Khat chewing on hematological indices are conflicted and mainly based on animal studies. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of Khat chewing on hematological indices in humans as well as the possible association of Khat chewing with H. pylori infection and blood loss in the gastrointestinal tract. Patients and Methods: This study was a comparative cross-sectional study, carried out on 140 participants aged 18 - 55 years old; 71 were healthy non-Khat chewers serving as a control group and 69 were regular Khat chewers. Complete blood count was analyzed as well as H. pylori antigen and occult blood in stool were investigated. Results: Hemoglobin concentration, MCV, MCH, and PCV were significantly (p = 0.037, 0.034, 0.043, and 0.019 respectively) lower in Khat chewers as compared with non-Khat chewers, whereas platelets count and white blood cells count were significantly (p = 0.006 and 0.007 respectively) higher in Khat chewers. Khat chewing was also associated with H. Pylori infection (OR: 2.7) and blood loss in the gastrointestinal tract (OR: 3.2). Conclusion: Khat chewing adversely affects hematological indices and increases the risk of H. Pylori infection and blood loss in the gastrointestinal tract.

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Effect of Chronic Khat Chewing on Intima-Media Thickness of Common Carotid Arteries in Yemeni volunteers

2021

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Objective: To assess the changes occurring in both common carotid arteries (CCAs) intima-media thickness (IMT) in Yemeni chronic khat chewers using B-mode ultrasonography. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 195 participants (103 regular khat chewers and 92 non-khat chewers) conveniently selected at the Radiology Department of the University of Science and Technology Hospital (USTH) in Sana’a from August 2017 to August 2018. Data about gender, age, BMI, chewing khat and the period of chewing were collected from participants using a structured questionnaire. B-mode ultrasonography of bilateral CCAs was then performed to measure the IMT. Data were analyzed using suitable statistical tests, and P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The majority of participants with CCA-IMT were males (91.8%) and aged 27 years or younger (59.0%), with a mean age of 27.9 ± 6.8 years. Khat chewers constituted more than half of patients with CCA-IMT. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean values of RT CCA-IMT and LT CCA-IMT between khat chewers and non-khat chewers. The CCA-MIT was significantly higher among male khat chewers compared to male non-chewers (P = 0.004). However, there was no statistically significant difference between khat chewers and non-chewers with respect to the age of 20 years or older (P = 0.301) and BMI of 18.5 kg/m2 or higher (P = 0.888). Age showed a significant positive correlation with RT CCA-IMT (r = 0.380; P < 0.001) and LT CCA-IMT (r = 0.458; P < 0.001) in Khat chewers. In contrast, age showed a significant positive correlation with LT CCA-IMT only in non-khat chewers (r = 0.236; P = 0.024). On the other hand, BMI showed a significant positive correlation with LT CCA-IMT (r = 0.254; P = 0.010) among khat chewers, but no significant correlation was found in CCA-IMT of both sides among non-khat chewers. Among khat chewers, there was a significant positive correlation with RT CCA-IMT (r = 0.273; P = 0.005) and LT CCA-IMT(r = 0.194; P = 0.049). Conclusion: Khat chewing does not lead to a significant difference in CCA-IMT among Yemeni chewers compared to non-chewers. However, the period of chewing may slightly affect the CCA-IMT among khat chewers. Age has a significant positive correlation with CCA-IMT in khat chewers and LT CCA-MIT in non-khat chewers, which could help to determine the contribution of different predisposing factors to atherosclerosis. A significant positive correlation can be found between BMI and LT CCA-MIT among khat chewers. Keywords: Khat Chewing, Intima media thickness, Carotid, Yemen

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Impact of Khat (Catha edulis) Chewing on Carotid Intima-media Thickness

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

Risks of khat chewing on the cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems

Risks of khat chewing on the cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems

Association between Chewing Khat (Catha edulis) and Hematological Indices and Helicobacter pylori Infection and Blood Loss in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Yemeni Chewers.

Effect of Chronic Khat Chewing on Intima-Media Thickness of Common Carotid Arteries in Yemeni volunteers

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