Khat Dependency and Psychophysical Symptoms among Chewers in Jazan Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Joint Authors
Alsanosy, Rashad Mohammed
El-Setouhy, Maged
Alsharqi, Abdallah
Ismail, Ahmed A.
Source
Issue
Vol. 2016, Issue 2016 (31 Dec. 2016), pp.1-6, 6 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2016-02-28
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
6
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Background.
Khat chewing is highly prevalent in Africa, Yemen and Jazan region, southwest of Saudi Arabia.
Most of Jazani Khat chewers consider khat session as a social activity and do not consider khat dependency.
The aim of this study was to explore khat dependency and its relationship with the psychophysical symptoms among chewers.
Methods.
Cross-sectional study on seventy Saudi male khat chewers living in Jazan area.
Psychological dependence to khat chewing was evaluated using the Severity of Dependency Scale (SDS).
The participants filled in a self-administrated assisted structured questionnaire designed to collect data about their medical history, neurological symptoms, and their chewing behavior.
Results.
Half (52.2%) of khat chewers showed psychological dependency.
Those having longer khat sessions (≥6 hours) were more liable for dependency.
Physical and psychological symptoms were more prevalent among khat dependent chewers.
Conclusions.
khat has a psychological dependence effect that can be measured by the SDS, even in low doses and with irregular use.
SDS scale is a useful tool to expect the burden of either physical or psychological symptoms on khat chewers.
American Psychological Association (APA)
El-Setouhy, Maged& Alsanosy, Rashad Mohammed& Alsharqi, Abdallah& Ismail, Ahmed A.. 2016. Khat Dependency and Psychophysical Symptoms among Chewers in Jazan Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. BioMed Research International،Vol. 2016, no. 2016, pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1097126
Modern Language Association (MLA)
El-Setouhy, Maged…[et al.]. Khat Dependency and Psychophysical Symptoms among Chewers in Jazan Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. BioMed Research International No. 2016 (2016), pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1097126
American Medical Association (AMA)
El-Setouhy, Maged& Alsanosy, Rashad Mohammed& Alsharqi, Abdallah& Ismail, Ahmed A.. Khat Dependency and Psychophysical Symptoms among Chewers in Jazan Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. BioMed Research International. 2016. Vol. 2016, no. 2016, pp.1-6.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1097126
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1097126