Problematic khat use as a possible risk factor for harmful use of other psychoactive substances: a mixed method study in Ethiopia

Mihretu, Awoke; Teferra, Solomon; Fekadu, Abebaw

doi:10.1186/s13011-017-0132-3

Cited by 22 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(31 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is similar to other findings; Lifson et al 2017 indicated an early onset of miraa use to be below 19 years at 54% among patients entering HIV treatment in Ethiopia, [19]. In addition, another study in Ethiopia indicated that about a half (49.0%) of miraa users started to use before the age of 10 years, [25].…”

Section: Age Of Onset Of Miraa Usesupporting

confidence: 87%

“…We found that the divorced and those who are single had a higher miraa use of 76.9% and 53.6% respectively; compared to the married, who indicated a lower use 25.5%. This is partly similar to findings of Mihretu et al, 2017 in an expletory study among individuals using miraa in Ethiopia, [25]. They reported that those who were single had higher miraa use of 69.6% compared to the married, 23.5%, but the divorced had a much lower use of 5.9%.…”

Section: Prevalence Of Miraa Use Per Socio-demographic Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 83%

“…All the above lead to increased financial problems, poor academic functioning and poorer quality of life, [23]. Furthermore, miraa use has been seen to be used with other psychoactive substances, that include tobacco, alcohol, and other psychoactive substances, " [4,19,[24][25]". Those living with HIV/AIDS and taking ARVs are more likely not to adhere to medication, [4].…”

Section: Effects Of Miraamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Miraa Use Among Somali Youth Living in Eastleigh, Nairobi Kenya

Nyavanga¹

2018

EJPM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Eastleigh is a suburb in Nairobi inhabited predominantly by Somalis and known for a number of activates that includes businesses, stop over of youth people from the western world on their way to Somalia or to learn the culture and get spouses. Miraa use has been associated with the Somali community. The area of study was chosen as Section 1 from the four Sections that approximately hold 9408 households. 270 households were selected with at least one youth aged between 18-25 years of age. We gave our own developed questionnaire that asked about demographic characteristics and patterns of miraa use to consenting participants. Descriptive analysis was done based on the demographic characteristics. We found that miraa use was high (47.9%) and was more prevalent among the males, those with lower educational level, the single (including the divorced and separated) and those born out of Eastleigh. We also found that miraa use was more prevalent among those whose parents were not married, living alone, with friends, relatives, parents and relatives, the unemployed, those running businesses, the self-employed and those whose families had lower income. Miraa onset was more likely at 18 years or below and was used with other psychoactive substances that include amphetamines, cannabis, heroin, cocaine, shisha, tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. A larger study should be done in this area that includes all the other sections as well. This study advises on targeting prevention of miraa use to youth younger than 18 years.

show abstract

Section: Age Of Onset Of Miraa Usesupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Prevalence Of Miraa Use Per Socio-demographic Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Effects Of Miraamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Miraa Use Among Somali Youth Living in Eastleigh, Nairobi Kenya

Nyavanga¹

2018

EJPM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other DOI: 10.1159/000499970 studies [6,37,45] also reported impairment of control over khat use as indicator of problematic khat use. The use of khat with other psychoactive substances was also mentioned as a pattern of use deviant from the "normal" khat chewing culture and it was an indicator of problematic khat use [36,46]. The post chewing experiences of khat use, mirqaan, were reported to be both distressing [37] and pleasurable [41] depending on the amount of khat.…”

Section: Qualitative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This doesn't only mean that the individual will be affected by the adverse consequences of the poly psychoactive substances, but it was also reported that using other psychoactive substances with khat is against the cultural definition of khat use. Khat use can be a gateway drug for other psychoactive substances misuse [46], which could be an evidence for indirect contribution of khat for morbidity and mortality.…”

Section: Psychometric Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Definition and Validity of the Construct “Problematic Khat Use”: A Systematic Review

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Problematic khat use, not khat use per se, is a public health and social concern for the public, researchers, and policy makers. However, the construct problematic khat use is not well-established and not fully recognized in the modern definition of substance use disorders including Diagnostic Statistic Manual (DSM-5) and international classification of diseases (ICD-10), although DSM-5 included it in the “stimulant use disorder” category. Existing scoping reviews have focused on khat use, which could not allow the differentiation of khat use from problematic khat use. Thus, the aim of this systematic review was to define and validate the construct problematic khat use. Methods: This systematic review was reported following the PRISMA guidelines. We searched all English language studies without publication date restriction from 5 databases; PubMed, EMBASE, psychINFO, SocINDEX, and Google scholar. All studies that defined, explored, evaluated, or measured the construct problematic khat use were included. Adapted data extraction tool and criteria for quality evaluation were employed. We presented the results in tables and thematic synthesis of the major findings. Result: Overall, 30 qualitative and cross-sectional design studies were included. Associated harms with khat use, an increased amount used, increased frequency of use, and withdrawal experiences were indicators of problematic khat use. Using khat on an average of 3 or more times per week and using other psychoactive substances during and after khat use were frequently used to define problematic khat use. The most frequently reported withdrawal symptoms were depressed mood, irritability, fatigue, lack of motivation, increased sleep, and appetite. The existing measures (severity of dependence scale and DSM-5) of problematic khat use had psychometrically acceptable properties in terms of construct, criterion, and convergent validity, but they are poor in terms of other domains of validity including content, conceptual, and semantic validity. Conclusion: Problematic khat use constitutes, but is not limited to, harms, increased use over time, and frequent engagement in other psychoactive substances misuse. Khat use is different from problematic khat use since it is occasional and used for prayer, social, and functional reasons. Strong empirical studies that could establish thresholds for patterns of problematic khat use and a culturally suitable problematic khat use measures that follows a bottom-up approach of scale development are warranted.

show abstract