A Pilot Community-Based Study on Association of Khat (Catha edulis) Chewing Practice with Psychosis in Yemen

Abstract

Community-based studies on association of khat (Catha edulis) chewing practice with psychological problems among the ethnic users in Yemen have been strongly recommended. The present study was aimed to investigate the association of this practice with stress, sleep disturbances, and anorexia in Dhamar area which is a major source of khat in Arabian Peninsula. A cross-sectional study with a pre-tested questionnaire was carried out among 148 khat users and 150 non-users of khat. The psychological health outcomes (stress, sleep disturbances, and anorexia) were measured by self-assessment method. The estimated risks to predict the probability that participants would develop stress, sleep disturbances, and anorexia according to their khat chewing were examined using the Poisson regression model incorporating the robust estimator. Association of sleep disturbances and anorexia with stress weas also evaluated. The findings of the present study showed that stress, sleep disturbances, and anorexia were found to be increased significantly (P ˂ 0.001) by 8.97, 9.28, and 7.28 times among the khat users, respectively. Accordingly, sleep disturbances and anorexia were significantly associated with stress (PR = 3.03; P ˂ 0.001, PR = 2.33; P ˂ 0.001, respectively). The results of this survey increase the need for attention among the regarded professionals about this harmful habit that can defect present and future of Yemeni people dramatically. However, more longitudinal researches pertaining to the contributory causal relationship of khat with psychosis are particularly needed.