Known by regional names like chat, qat, mirra, and qaad, Catha edulis (khat) is a stimulant plant of the Celastraceae family that is extensively grown throughout East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Amphetamine-like substances that cause mild to moderate psychological dependency include its primary psychoactive ingredients, cathinone, cathine, and norephedrine. The WHO has classified khat as a restricted drug because of its negative health consequences, despite the fact that it has historically been used for social and medical purposes.
The stimulating function is attributed to cathinone, the main alkaloid in fresh leaves, which has been connected to hyperactivity, irritation, and sleeplessness. According to experimental research, cathinone and its metabolites have a negative impact on the heart and induce coronary vasoconstriction. There may be a link between chewing khat and acute cerebrovascular episodes, according to scant evidence from Somalia, which calls for more research. Thus, this study determined the relationship between the occurrence of acute stroke and the act of chewing khat.
The current investigation was conducted at the Mogadishu-Somalia Turkish Training and Research Hospital using a prospective observational design. Data were collected between January 2021 and December 2023, a span of 3 years. All stroke patients who visited the hospital's emergency room, had a history of khat use, and had no prior stroke risk factors were included in the research.
52 male patients with acute stroke diagnoses participated in the research. Of the participants, 25% (n = 13) were between the ages of 40 and 64, and 75% (n = 39) were between the ages of 18 and 39. The results show that ischemic stroke accounted for only 11.5% (n = 6) of cases, whereas hemorrhagic stroke accounted for 88.5% (n = 46) of cases. Khat use was reported by all 52 research participants.
Apart from chewing khat, it was discovered that 70% (n = 36) of the participants had been using khat for more than five years; none of the subjects had any other stroke risk factors. Overall, the major active ingredient in khat, cathinone, raises blood pressure and promotes cerebral vascular constriction, which results in stroke, and excessive intake raises the risk of CVD.
Source:
Sidow, N. O., Gökgül, A., & Hassan, M. S. (2024). Chewing Khat (Catha edulis) is a Risk Factor for Stroke: A Prospective Study. International Journal of General Medicine, 17, 5707–5713. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S482246
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