Family and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2013 Jun 11;8(6):e65504. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065504. Print 2013.
The use of Khat leaves (Catha edulis) in Jazan, southwest of KSA, is prevalent among all segments of the population.
This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and predictors of Khat chewing among intermediate and secondary school students of Jazan region.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in late 2011 in Jazan region. A random sample of 3923 students was selected from 72 intermediate and upper secondary schools representing the different educational sectors of the region. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics, a chi-squared test and logistic regression were performed to examine the prevalence, associations and predictors of Khat chewing.
The overall Khat chewing prevalence among students was 20.5% (95% C.I.: 19.27-21.79). The prevalence was significantly higher among males, at 33.1% (95% CI: 31.16-35.08), than among females 4.3% (95% C.I.: 3.39-5.31) ( P <0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that gender, age, academic performance, friends' smoking and Khat chewing, and students' smoking status were associated with a significantly high risk of Khat chewing ( P <0.001 for all). The multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that the most important independent predictors of Khat chewing among the students in our sample were students' smoking status (OR = 13.02, P <0.001), friends' use of Khat (OR = 5.65, P <0.001), gender (OR = 4.62, P <0.001), and friend's use of tobacco (OR = 1.43, P <0.001).
A significant percentage of students chew Khat. The abuse of Khat is significantly associated with gender, peer influence, and cigarette smoking. Intervention programs are needed to create awareness among school students and to reduce the prevalence of the habit and its unfavorable consequences.
在沙特阿拉伯西南部的吉赞地区,咔特叶(Catha edulis)的使用在各个年龄段的人群中都很普遍。
本研究旨在评估吉赞地区中学和高中学生中咀嚼咔特叶的流行率和预测因素。
2011 年末,在吉赞地区进行了一项横断面调查。从该地区不同教育部门的 72 所中级和高级中学中随机抽取了 3923 名学生作为随机样本。使用结构化的自我管理问卷收集数据。采用描述性统计、卡方检验和逻辑回归分析来检查咀嚼咔特叶的流行率、关联和预测因素。
学生中总的咔特叶咀嚼流行率为 20.5%(95%置信区间:19.27-21.79)。男生的流行率明显更高,为 33.1%(95%置信区间:31.16-35.08),而女生为 4.3%(95%置信区间:3.39-5.31)(P<0.001)。单因素分析显示,性别、年龄、学业成绩、朋友吸烟和咀嚼咔特叶以及学生吸烟状况与咀嚼咔特叶的风险显著增加有关(所有 P<0.001)。多元逻辑回归分析表明,在我们的样本中,学生咀嚼咔特叶的最重要独立预测因素是学生吸烟状况(OR=13.02,P<0.001)、朋友使用咔特叶(OR=5.65,P<0.001)、性别(OR=4.62,P<0.001)和朋友使用烟草(OR=1.43,P<0.001)。
相当比例的学生咀嚼咔特叶。咔特叶的滥用与性别、同伴影响和吸烟显著相关。需要开展干预计划,以提高学生的认识,并减少这种习惯及其不利后果的流行率。