National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths, International Centre for Drug Policy, St George's University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2011;47(4):445-64. doi: 10.4415/ANN_11_04_17.
During the past 20 years or so, more has become known about the properties of khat, its pharmacology, physiological and psychological effects on humans. However, at the same time its reputation of social and recreational use in traditional contexts has hindered the dissemination of knowledge about its detrimental effects in terms of mortality. This paper focuses on this particular deficit and adds to the knowledge-base by reviewing the scant literature that does exist on mortality associated with the trade and use of khat. We sought all peer-reviewed papers relating to deaths associated with khat. From an initial list of 111, we identified 15 items meeting our selection criteria. Examination of these revealed 61 further relevant items. These were supplemented with published reports, newspaper and other media reports. A conceptual framework was then developed for classifying mortality associated with each stage of the plant's journey from its cultivation, transportation, consumption, to its effects on the human body. The model is demonstrated with concrete examples drawn from the above sources. These highlight a number of issues for which more substantive statistical data are needed, including population-based studies of the physiological and psychological determinants of khat-related fatalities. Khat-consuming communities, and health professionals charged with their care should be more aware of the physiological and psychological effects of khat, together with the risks for morbidity and mortality associated with its use. There is also a need for information to be collected at international and national levels on other causes of death associated with khat cultivation, transportation, and trade. Both these dimensions need to be understood.
在过去的 20 年左右的时间里，人们对阿拉伯茶的特性、药理学、对人类的生理和心理影响有了更多的了解。然而，与此同时，它在传统背景下作为社交和娱乐用途的声誉阻碍了关于其死亡率方面有害影响的知识传播。本文专注于这一特定的缺陷，并通过审查与阿拉伯茶贸易和使用相关的死亡率的稀缺文献，增加了知识基础。我们搜索了所有与阿拉伯茶死亡相关的同行评议论文。从最初的 111 篇文章中，我们确定了 15 篇符合我们选择标准的文章。对这些文章的审查又发现了 61 篇相关文章。这些文章还补充了已发表的报告、报纸和其他媒体报道。然后，为植物从种植、运输、消费到对人体影响的各个阶段与死亡率相关的情况开发了一个概念框架。该模型通过从上述来源中提取的具体例子进行了演示。这些例子突出了一些需要更多实质性统计数据的问题，包括对与阿拉伯茶相关的死亡的生理和心理决定因素进行基于人群的研究。阿拉伯茶消费社区和负责他们护理的卫生专业人员应该更加了解阿拉伯茶的生理和心理影响，以及与使用相关的发病率和死亡率的风险。还需要在国际和国家层面收集与阿拉伯茶种植、运输和贸易相关的其他死亡原因的信息。这两个方面都需要了解。
