Prevalence and factors associated with khat chewing among the youth in Arua City Northern Uganda

Abstract

Khat (Catha edulis) is an ever- green plant which is widely cultivated and consumed in East Africa and Middle East. Cathinone and cathine are the biochemically active ingredients in Khat which are basically alkaloid chemicals resembling the psychoactive substance of Amphetamine both structurally and functionally. Chewing the fresh green leaves of Khat tree is the most used method of Khat consumption globally. It’s estimated that 20 million people in Arabian Peninsula and East Africa including Uganda chew Khat on daily basis with majority being the youth. People chew Khat for various reasons such as; enhanced efficiency at work and school, some chew Khat just to pass time, socialization, and recreation. Objective: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with Khat chewing among the youth in Arua City. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study design was employed, utilizing a self-administered questionnaire for data collection among the youth in Arua city, Northern Uganda. A proportionate size of 315 youth between 18-35 years and reside in Arua city who consented to participate in the study were selected. The data collected, entered in excel and exported to SPSS software for analysis. Results: The prevalence of Khat chewing among the youth in Arua city, Northern region was at 19.7% At bivariate level, Chi2 tests indicated that; age Family influence cultural norms and social responsibility, abuse of other drugs and Peer pressure (p<0.05) were factors associated with Khat chewing among the youth in Arua city, Northern Uganda. At multivariate level, logistic regression indicated that only age, peer pressure and cultural norms, social acceptability were factors associated with Khat chewing among the youth in Arua city (p<0.05). The prevalence of Khat chewing among the youth in Arua city, Northern region, was still higher. The factors associated with Khat chewing among the youth in Arua city, Northern Uganda were age, peer pressure, family influence, abuse of other drugs, cultural norms and social acceptability. Public health officers and other stakeholders in Arua city, Northern Uganda should conduct trainings specifically to teach youth especially those in school about the impacts/risks associated with Khat chewing and further the government should enforce laws and regulations related to drug use and restrict access to drugs through enforcement of drug control policy and severe penalties for those who supply these illicit drugs