Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand.
Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Penang, Malaysia.
Subst Use Misuse. 2023;58(10):1212-1225. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2023.2215301. Epub 2023 Jun 3.
or Kratom has been used in Thailand traditionally for its medicinal value. Despite case reports of kratom consumption causing adverse effects, research on its long-term health impact is limited. This study examines the long-term health impact of kratom use among people in Southern Thailand.
Three community-based surveys were conducted from 2011 to 2015. In the first and second surveys (2011 and 2012) a total of 1,118 male respondents comprising 355 regular kratom users, 171 occasional kratom users, 66 ex-users, and 592 non-users aged 25 or above, were recruited from 40 villages. All respondents were followed up in this study. However, not all respondents were successfully followed up throughout the entire set of studies.
Common health complaints were no more common among kratom users than ex- and non-users, but more regular than occasional users claimed kratom to be addictive. Those with high kratom dependence scores were more likely to experience intense withdrawal symptoms, which developed 1-12 h after the last kratom intake. Over half (57.9%) of regular users had experienced intoxication effects compared to only 29.3% of occasional users. Kratom users were less likely to have a history of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia than ex- and non-users.
Regular long-term chewing of fresh kratom leaves was not related to an increase in common health complaints, but may pose a drug dependence risk. Severe kratom dependents were more likely to suffer from intense withdrawal symptoms. Medical records revealed no death due to traditional kratom use, but the high prevalence of tobacco or/and hand rolled cigarette smoking among kratom users should be of concern.
在泰国，传统上一直将咔特（Kratom）用于药用价值。尽管有咔特消费引起不良反应的病例报告，但对其长期健康影响的研究有限。本研究考察了泰国南部地区咔特使用者的长期健康影响。
2011 年至 2015 年期间进行了三次基于社区的调查。在第一次和第二次调查（2011 年和 2012 年）中，共招募了 1118 名 25 岁或以上的男性受访者，其中 355 名为常规咔特使用者、171 名为偶尔咔特使用者、66 名为前使用者和 592 名为非使用者，他们来自 40 个村庄。所有受访者都在本研究中进行了随访。然而，并非所有受访者都在整个研究过程中成功随访。
咔特使用者的常见健康投诉并不比前使用者和非使用者更常见，但比偶尔使用者更常声称咔特具有成瘾性。那些依赖程度高的人更有可能经历强烈的戒断症状，这些症状在最后一次摄入咔特后 1-12 小时出现。超过一半（57.9%）的常规使用者经历过中毒效应，而只有 29.3%的偶尔使用者经历过。与前使用者和非使用者相比，咔特使用者更不可能有糖尿病、高血压、血脂异常等慢性疾病史。
长期定期咀嚼新鲜咔特叶与常见健康投诉的增加无关，但可能存在药物依赖风险。严重的咔特依赖者更有可能遭受强烈的戒断症状。医疗记录显示，没有因传统咔特使用而死亡的病例，但咔特使用者中烟草或/和手卷香烟的高流行率应引起关注。
