Title : Prevalence Blood Pressure among Chewers khat in Sana'a -Yemen
Abstract:
Background:
Hypertension is a growing public health problem, with remarkable contribution to cardiovasculardiseases morbidity. Worldwide, an estimated one billion individuals have hypertension, and approximately 7.1 million deaths per year are attributable to hypertension. Clinical and statistical studies suggest possible additional newer risk factors for hypertension, including Qat chewing , independent of classical factors such as dyslipidemia, tobacco smoking, having diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.
In yemen, qat chewing is a widely practised socio-cultural habit. It consists of placing the green-leaved plant into the mucobuccal fold and chewing it for several hours.
This study was conducted to determine the prevelance of blood pressure among chewers qat in sana'a -Yemen
Methods:
We compared systolic and diastolic blood pressure of adults 35-65 years of age who reported regular chewing of Qat during the preceding five years to those who never chewed Qat during the same period. Study
participants were recruited from purposively selected urban and rural villages of Sana'a in Yemen during march -may 2021
Thecomparative groups, chewers (340) and non-chewers (340), were identified from among the general population through a house-to-house visit using a screening questionnaire. They were frequency-matched for sex and age within a five-year range. Data were collected through structured interviews and physical measurements including blood pressure, weight and height.
Two-tailed, p-value <0.05 was regarded statistically considerable.
Results:
The findings of the investigation: the prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher among Qat chewers (14.2%) than non-chewers (11.5%).
A considerably high proportion of chewers (30.1%) than non-chewers (21.2%) had sub-optimal diastolic blood pressure (> 80 mmHg). The mean ±sd diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher among Qat chewers [78.0 ±12.3)] than non-chewers [73.9 ±11.7], P < 0.05.
Similarly, Qat chewers had significantly higher mean (sd) heart rate [76.3 ±11.5] than non-chewers [74.9 ±12.6], P < 0.05. There was no significant difference in mean systolic blood pressure between the two groups.
Conclusions:
Our study revealed that Qat chewing may contribute to elevated blood pressure, with a more pronounced effect on diastolic blood pressure. A considerably higher proportion of Qat chewers have sub-optimal DBP. The findings suggest that Cathinone might have a sustained effect as peripheral vasoconstrictor among regular Qat chewers.
The association of regular Qat chewing and elevated blood pressure levels in the population has significant relevance for public health. Programs for the prevention and
control of high blood pressure in the population need to
devise strategies to counter the expansion of Qat chewing and other substance use behaviors
