Khat: Chewing on a bitter controversy (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

Epidemiology of Khat (Catha edulis) Chewing in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and meta-analysis

In several countries, including Ethiopia, the shrub Catha edulis (khat) leaves are chewed for their stimulant properties. The present review summarizes evidence on the prevalence of khat use in Ethiopia and forwards recommendations for future action. PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched for studies examining the prevalence of Khat chewing among adolescent and/or adult populations in Ethiopia. A random-effects model was employed to estimate the pooled prevalence of khat chewing. Of the 568 articles identified, 26 were included in the review. The pooled prevalence of current and lifetime khat use was 19.55% (95% CI 14.62-25.64) and 26.14% (CI 17.66-36.87), respectively. The current prevalence of khat use was higher in men, 23.72% (CI 13.42-38.41), than in women 8.45% (CI 4.94-14.08). Lifetime prevalence of khat use was higher in men, 29.8% (CI: 22.80-37.99) than in women 13.02% (CI 8.96-18.56). The results of the meta-analysis demonstrated a higher odds of current (OR = 4.00, CI 2.80-5.73) and lifetime (OR = 2.84, CI 2.50-3.23) khat use in men than in women. Our review found a high prevalence of current (19.55%) and lifetime (26.14%) khat chewing in Ethiopia and demonstrated higher odds of current and lifetime khat use in men than in women. Awareness creation and integrated management of khat use problems at the primary health-care level is highly recommended.