Prevalence of Khat (Catha edulis) Chewing and Its Determinants: A Respondent-Driven Survey from Hossana, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Ethiopia is a leading khat producer in East Africa, and almost all regions are involved in khat production. Hossana, a small town in Southern Ethiopia, is also actively involved in khat production and its use. However, very few studies have been conducted to investigate the habit of khat chewing in this area. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and predictors of khat chewing among Hossana residents. Methods The study was conducted on 1700 individuals in Hossana town from March 2018 to June 2019. A structured pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was designed and used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were carried out to study the prevalence and predictors of khat chewing in the study area. Results The overall prevalence of khat chewing among the respondents was 58.0% (95% CI 53.4–63.3) of which 68.4% were daily khat users and 31.5% used it occasionally. About 24.7% of females and 75.2% of males had chewed khat. Muslim religion (AOR 2.37; 95% CI 1.58–4.32), male gender (AOR 3.48; 95% CI 2.16–5.61), Older age (AOR 1.36; 95% CI 0.84–2.21), participants having habitual khat chewing friends or a khat chewer family associate (OR 1.70; 95% CI 1.17–2.20) were found to be independent predictors of chewing. Conclusion Significant portion of the population in the study area chew khat. Khat use is significantly associated with the Muslim religion, gender, age, and habit of family and friends. Further studies with larger demographic area are warranted from the study area to reproduce these findings.

Current alcohol, tobacco, and khat use and associated factors among adults living in Harari regional state, eastern Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study

“…The study found that being a Muslim religion follower was significantly associated with khat use. This was in line with previous Ethiopian studies in Jimma (52), Agaro (89), Hosanna town (36), and Butajira (63). The possible reason might be that the perception of the community in the use of khat has been confined to the Muslim religion followers and culturally accepted by the community and passed from generation to generation.…”

“…Despite this burden and consequence, few studies have been conducted on the factors associated with the consumption of psychoactive substances in different parts of Ethiopia ( 28 , 31 , 35 , 36 ). Almost all studies that were conducted on psychoactive substance use were conducted only on some groups of people, especially among university students ( 37 – 44 ).…”

In vitro and In silico studies of interactions of cathinone with human recombinant cytochrome P450 CYP(1A2), CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C19, CYP2E1, CYP2J2, and CYP3A5

“…Besides, khat chewing is also popular among medical students with prevalence of 21.5% [2] . Khat use was found to be significantly associated to religion, gender, age, and habit of family and friends [58] . Studies also found that lifetime prevalence of khat use was the highest in Yemen, followed by Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia which were 43.27%, 37.32% and 24.82% respectively [10] .…”

“…Ethiopia as the leading khat producer in East African region showed a prevalence of khat chewing of 58% from 1700 individuals in Hossana, of which 68.4% were daily khat users while 31.5% are occasional users [58] . Besides, khat chewing is also popular among medical students with prevalence of 21.5% [2] .…”

Assessment of COVID-19 Symptoms Distribution According to Tobacco Products Consumption and Khat Chewing: A Potential Antinociceptive Role of Nicotine Among COVID-19 Patients

“…13 Khat is a plant that contains cathinone, which has amphetamine-like pharmacological characteristics. 14 The habit of khat chewing is widely practiced in eastern African countries such as Ethiopia, 15 Southwestern regions of the Arabian peninsula, including Yemen, 16 and the southwest of Saudi Arabia. 17 Khat chewing has been reported to have a harmful impact on health 18 and is commonly practiced with smoking.…”