Abstract
BackgroundKhat is an evergreen plant with leaves containing the amphetamine-like compounds cathinone and cathine. Many people in the Horn of Africa use khat on a regular basis. Adverse health and social consequences of khat use have been described but little is known about the use of khat in people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLHIV) in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of khat use and factors associated with khat use among PLHIV who are in contact with HIV services in a hospital in south-west Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 389 PLHIV who attended HIV services at Jimma University Specialized Hospital in September 2012. A structured questionnaire, translated into the local languages, was used to ask about the frequency of khat use and potential risk factors and consequences of khat use in this patient group. Logistic regression analysis was used for bivariate and multivariable analysis.ResultsThe overall prevalence of current khat use among people living with HIV was 23.0%. The prevalence was 18.3% in females and 33.6% in males. Christians were less likely to use khat when compared to Muslims (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 0.26, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.55). There was a positive association between khat use and mental distress (aOR 1.84, 95% CI = 1.01, 3.36), smoking cigarettes (aOR 21.21, 95% CI = 7.19, 62.51), alcohol use disorders (aOR 2.16, 95% CI = 1.10, 4.21), CD4 count ≤200 cells/mm3 (aOR 3.46, 95% CI = 1.60, 7.50) and missing at least one dose of antiretroviral medication in the preceding month (ART) (aOR 4.2, 95% CI = 1.80, 5.75).ConclusionIn this study there was a high prevalence of khat use among people living with HIV which was associated with poorer adherence to ART. There is a need to adapt and evaluate feasible and acceptable interventions to reduce khat use in people living with HIV.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0446-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Khat is an evergreen plant with leaves containing the amphetamine-like compounds cathinone and cathine
The participant was asked the name of the medication and prescribed schedule, and the number of times they had missed a dose of medication for each of the following time periods: ‘today’, ‘yesterday’, ‘in the past three days’, ‘in the past seven days’ and ‘in the past 30 days’
Participant characteristics A total of 401 people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLHIV) were approached for enrolment in the study
Summary
Khat is an evergreen plant with leaves containing the amphetamine-like compounds cathinone and cathine. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of khat use and factors associated with khat use among PLHIV who are in contact with HIV services in a hospital in south-west Ethiopia. Khat is a plant with psychoactive properties which is cultivated and used predominantly in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula [1,2,3]. People report that they use khat, amongst other reasons, to increase social cohesion or reduce unpleasant emotions [2]. Sociocultural factors, in particular related to religion, are considered to be the most important drivers of khat use in Soboka et al BMC Psychiatry (2015) 15:69
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