The Effect Of Catha Edulis (khat) On Blood Pressure Pulse Rate And Blood Glucose Concentration In Adult Subjects Of Arba Minch Town Southern Ethiopia.

Background: In Ethiopia khat chewing had deep rooted history as early as fourteenth centuryrnand is commonly used for social, religious and recreational purposes. Recently, khat chewingrnbecame a common practice among secondary, high school, higher education institution’srnstudents and younger generation. It has been established that the leaves of khat comprise anrnactive psycho stimulant substance known as “cathinone” that is analogous in structure andrnpharmacologic action to amphetamine. Though, numerous case reports of khat inducedrnpsychoactive and metabolic profiles have been published; investigations in Arba Minch cityrn(Southern Ethiopia) remain limited.rnObjectives: To assess the acute effect of khat chewing on blood pressure, pulse rate and bloodrnglucose concentration in adult subjects adapted to chewing khat in Arba Minch town. rnMethods: Comparative cross section study design using simple random sampling technique wasrnemployed to select khat chewers and controls. 128 khat chewers (age: above ≥18 years), nonchewersrnrn– controls (age: ≥ 18 years) from both sexes participated in the study. Structuredrnquestionnaire were used to document the socio demographic characteristics and clinical status ofrnthe study partakers. Pulse rate (PR/min), blood pressure (mm Hg) and fasting blood glucose levelrn(mg/dl) were measured and recorded. Data were analyzed via EPINFO (ver. 7) SPSS (ver. 23)rnrespectively. rnResults: Khat chewers have showed significantly higher values than non-chewers controls forrnblood glucose (97.2±21.7 vs 88.2±16.8, P=0.000), systolic (118.0±16.6 vs 112.0±12.148,rnP=0.003), diastolic (78.8±14.7 vs 72.9±11.2, P=0.001), mean arterial blood pressure (90.4±18.4rnvs 84.6±15.2, P=0.001) and the mean pulse rate (77.6±34.6 vs 72.8±31.887, P=0.000).Fromrn17.1% of the study participants screened for hypertension among the chat chewers was 8.6%. Arntotal of 18.6% study partakers were screened for tachycardia of which 13.2% were khat chewersrnand 5.4% were non-chewers. And a total of 20.2% study participants were screened forrnhyperglycemia of which, 14.0% were khat chewers and 6.2% remained non-chewers. rnConclusion: Khat chewing in Arbaminch town has induced marked changes in blood pressure,rnheart rate, and hyperglycemia, factors which are known to be positively associated withrncardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism