Prevalence and Associated Factors of Khat Chewing among Atse Fasil Campus Student in University of Gondar, North West Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: Khat is a shrub or tree its leaves have been chewed for centuries in the Eastern part of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Globally, khat chewing habit is being a hot issue of discussion and spreading at an alarming rate in the young generation, especially in higher institutions; where there are intensive academic activities are more intended. Similarly in Ethiopia it is consumed by some population groups commonly youths. It has a reported negative economic and health impact on the individuals engaging in the habit of khat chewing. There were no studies conducted to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of khat chewing in our study area. Objective: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and associated factors of khat chewing among students of the Atse Fasil campus at the University of Gondar, North West Ethiopia. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 29 to May 03, 2013, in Aste Fasil campus, University of Gondar. A total of 310 students were selected using a stratified random sampling technique in which only 302 answer the question making the response rate of 97.4%. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20 software.  Odds ratio and chi-square were used to test the association between different variables and also frequency, proportion and summary statistic was used to describe the study population. The analysis was taken a confidence interval of 95% and association with a P-value of < 0.05. Results: The study revealed 9.6% lifetime prevalence rate of khat chewing. The current prevalence of khat chewing was found to be 6.95%. There were 6.72% female khat chewers and 11.7% male khat chewers. A large proportion (58.6%) lifetime chewers were started khat chewing after joining the university.  Tigre ethnic group was significantly associated factor (AOR=0.041, 95%CI (0.002-0.718) with the outcome variable. Conclusion: The prevalence of khat chewing seems to decrease among university students.  According to the study, Tigre ethnic group were at low risk of chewing khat than another ethnic group. The majority of the students were started chewing after joining the university. Increasing control measures and awareness about the health and social problems associated with khat chewing need to be implemented. Recreational alternatives for young people have to be found.