SynthesisBMJ open2022
Exploring the association between khat use and psychiatric symptoms: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Khat consumption and undernutrition among adult population in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Exploring the association between khat use and psychiatric symptoms: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- The rising tide of drug-induced psychosis.Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater · 2026Review
- Khat-associated Autoimmune Hepatitis: A Review with RUCAM Analysis.Journal of clinical and translational hepatology · 2025Review
- Mental health problems in Somalia after decades of humanitarian crises: a qualitative exploration of perceptions and experiences.Tropical medicine and health · 2024Article
- The Effects of Khat Chewing among Djiboutians: Dental Chemical Studies, Gingival Histopathological Analyses and Bioinformatics Approaches.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Individual and community-level factors associated with khat (Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Is chewing khat associated with mental health disorders? A scoping review of the content and quality of the current evidence base.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2023Article
- Understanding the Mechanisms of Action and Effects of Drugs of Abuse.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Management practice and discharge outcome of patients with psychiatric disorder admitted to psychiatry wards of selected specialized settings in Ethiopia.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Prevalence and characteristics of unipolar mania in a low-income country setting: population-based data from the Butajira cohort, rural Ethiopia.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesConsumption of the drug khat is high across East Africa and the South-Western Arabian Peninsula despite evidence for its adverse psychiatric effects. This systematic review aims to explore cross-sectional research in the field to determine the strength of the association between khat use and psychiatric symptoms
methodsSix databases were searched in October 2021-Ovid Medline, Embase, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus and Proquest-using the following search terms: "khat" OR "qat" OR "qaad" OR "catha" OR "miraa" OR "mairungi" AND "depression" OR "anxiety" OR "mania" OR "psych*" OR "schiz*" OR "mental" OR "hallucinations" OR "delusions" OR "bipolar". Eligible studies were cross-sectional studies of any population or setting comparing the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in long term or dependent khat users with non-users. The quality of each study was appraised by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A meta-analysis was planned using a random effects model to produce an OR with 95% CIs-using the Mantel-Haenszel method-alongside an I
results35 studies were eligible for inclusion (total participants=31 893), spanning 5 countries (Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, UK). Meta-analysis suggests that khat use is associated with an 122% increased prevalence of psychiatric symptoms (OR 2.22, 95% CIs 1.76 to 2.79, p<0.00001, GRADE score: 'very low').
conclusionsThe high heterogeneity of the meta-analysis is likely due to the wide variation between the studies within the evidence base. To perform a more accurate systematic review, further primary studies are needed with standardised measurements of variables, particularly khat consumption. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020224510.
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