Nor Osman Sidow, Alper Gökgül, Mohamed Sheikh Hassan
{"title":"Chewing Khat (<i>Catha edulis</i>) is a Risk Factor for Stroke: A Prospective Study.","authors":"Nor Osman Sidow, Alper Gökgül, Mohamed Sheikh Hassan","doi":"10.2147/IJGM.S482246","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The plant known as <i>Catha edulis</i>, commonly referred to as Khat, holds significant cultural significance within the populations of East Africa and Southwestern Arabia. The objective of this study is to ascertain and assess the association between the act of chewing khat and the incidence of acute stroke.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>The present study was carried out in a prospective observational manner at the Mogadishu-Somalia Turkish Training and Research Hospital. Data were gathered over a period of three years, from January 2021 to December 2023. The study encompassed all stroke patients who presented at the hospital's emergency department who had the habit of khat consumption and did not have previous risk factors of stroke. The study included a sample size of 52 patients.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study involved 52 male patients who were diagnosed with acute stroke. Among the participants, 75% (n = 39) were aged between 18 and 39 years, while 25% (n = 13) were aged between 40 and 64 years. The findings indicate that hemorrhagic stroke was the prevailing stroke type, accounting for 88.5% (n = 46) of cases, while ischemic stroke accounted for only 11.5% (n = 6). All 52 participants in the study reported using khat. In addition to the act of chewing khat, it was found that 70% (n = 36) of the participants had been using khat for a period exceeding 5 years; none of the participants exhibited any additional risk factors for stroke.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings of our study indicate that <i>Catha edulis</i>, commonly known as khat, is a significant risk factor and potential causative agent for stroke. Khat consumption has been identified as a contributing factor to the incidence of cerebrovascular diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":14131,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of General Medicine","volume":"17 ","pages":"5707-5713"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11616437/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of General Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S482246","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: The plant known as Catha edulis, commonly referred to as Khat, holds significant cultural significance within the populations of East Africa and Southwestern Arabia. The objective of this study is to ascertain and assess the association between the act of chewing khat and the incidence of acute stroke.
Materials and methods: The present study was carried out in a prospective observational manner at the Mogadishu-Somalia Turkish Training and Research Hospital. Data were gathered over a period of three years, from January 2021 to December 2023. The study encompassed all stroke patients who presented at the hospital's emergency department who had the habit of khat consumption and did not have previous risk factors of stroke. The study included a sample size of 52 patients.
Results: The study involved 52 male patients who were diagnosed with acute stroke. Among the participants, 75% (n = 39) were aged between 18 and 39 years, while 25% (n = 13) were aged between 40 and 64 years. The findings indicate that hemorrhagic stroke was the prevailing stroke type, accounting for 88.5% (n = 46) of cases, while ischemic stroke accounted for only 11.5% (n = 6). All 52 participants in the study reported using khat. In addition to the act of chewing khat, it was found that 70% (n = 36) of the participants had been using khat for a period exceeding 5 years; none of the participants exhibited any additional risk factors for stroke.
Conclusion: The findings of our study indicate that Catha edulis, commonly known as khat, is a significant risk factor and potential causative agent for stroke. Khat consumption has been identified as a contributing factor to the incidence of cerebrovascular diseases.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of General Medicine is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal that focuses on general and internal medicine, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment protocols. The journal is characterized by the rapid reporting of reviews, original research and clinical studies across all disease areas.
A key focus of the journal is the elucidation of disease processes and management protocols resulting in improved outcomes for the patient. Patient perspectives such as satisfaction, quality of life, health literacy and communication and their role in developing new healthcare programs and optimizing clinical outcomes are major areas of interest for the journal.
As of 1st April 2019, the International Journal of General Medicine will no longer consider meta-analyses for publication.