Assessment of khat chewing among preparatory school students in Addis Ababa

Abstract

Background: Khat is the name generally used for Catha edulis which is known by a variety of names. It is being used in different countries of the world and the number of users is increasing rapidly from time to time. It is mostly used by long distance truck drivers and students for relieving stress and as a means of keeping them alert. It affects the health, economic & social life of both consumers and their family. Knowing the prevalence and its associated factors in a school setting will help to design different intervention measures. Objective: The objective of the study is to assess Khat chewing habit and its associated factors among Preparatory school students in Addis Ababa. Methods: A school based cross-sectional study was conducted on March 2011 on preparatory school students of Addis Ababa by using a self administered questionnaire. Eighteen schools were selected by simple random sampling method .The schools were stratified in to grade 11 & 12 and one section in each grade level was selected randomly and finally all the students in the selected sections were included in the study. Logistic regression and independent sample t-test were used for analyzing the association of different variables and for comparing academic performance of khat chewers and non chewers respectively. Results: The lifetime & current prevalence of khat chewing were 19.9% and 8.02% respectively. Muslim religion (AOR= 3.05(1.40, 6.67)), being grade 12 (AOR= 2.21(1.21, 4.05)), early initiation of khat chewing (AOR= 0.21 (0.11, 0.38)), social science field (AOR= 1.74(1.01, 2.99)), having a friend chewing khat (AOR=6.94 (3.13, 15.38)), use of alcohol (AOR= 2.93(1.40, 6.13)), cigarette (AOR= 8.04(4.11, 15.71)) and Shisha (AOR = 7.19 (3.53, 14.64)) were significantly associated with khat chewing habit. Additionally, khat chewers scored a lower academic result than non chewers. VIII Conclusion & recommendations: The prevalence of khat chewing habit was fairly low. Religion, grade level, field of study, having a friend chewing khat, use of alcohol, cigarette and Shisha were found to be significantly associated with khat chewing habit. It influenced the academic performance of preparatory school students. So, great emphasis should be given in increasing awareness, including substance abuse in the educational curriculum and establishing healthy recreational places.