Researchers investigating the evidence for a potential causal link between khat use and mental illness – in the first ever systematic review of the topic – have called for improved research on the stimulant plant, and its possible association with psychiatric disorders.
In light of ongoing international concern about a contributory association between use of khat and ill mental health, Dr Nasir Warfa – lecturer in Transcultural Psychiatry at Queen Mary, University of London – has reviewed clinical case reports, alongside qualitative and quantitative articles on khat use and mental illness, dating back over 50 years. The work was undertaken in partnership with colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry, University College London, and the University of Kent.
The findings, which appear online in the social science journal, Social Science and Medicine, show that whilst khat use appears to exacerbate existing psychological problems, there is not currently, any clear evidence which indicates that khat use is a catalyst for the development of mental illness.
Commonly used by around 10 million people in east Africa and countries in the Arabian peninsula, chewing khat for its stimulant properties has also become popular in the UK among immigrants of the Somali, Yemeni and Ethiopian communities. Whilst it is reported to have cultural functions, it is also increasingly reported to be associated with social and medical problems including anti-social behaviour, unemployment, psychoses, depression, and self-neglect.
Crucially, there is also a link between poverty and widespread misuse of khat. In east Africa, 60 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, yet sizeable numbers of khat users borrow money to obtain the drug, exacerbating poverty levels and eroding the quality of life of khat users and their communities. It is in this context, that researchers are planning to undertake a new study to examine khat as a cause of poverty and a failure of regeneration and economic prosperity.
Whilst anecdotal evidence does point towards there being a consequence of mental illness via excessive use of khat, particularly where there is a pre-existing mental illness or vulnerability to psychological distress, Dr Warfa and his team argue that there are many other alternative hypotheses to a causal relationship between khat use and mental illness including the use of khat for self-medication. The researchers suggest that only by improving the quality of future research, and integrating social, medical and pharmacological studies, can a more incisive understanding of the psychological and social impact of khat on individuals and communities be gained.
Further, the researchers recommend that any future policy developments in the UK should feature health and social care which is culturally and socially appropriate. Dr Axel Klein, lecturer in the Study of Addictive Behaviour, University of Kent, also warns that potential legislators should consider the repercussions of criminalising large sections of the community such as the evolution of new organised crime groups based on khat trafficking, and the perverse consequence of increased risk behaviour among khat users.
Dr Warfa said: We need to revisit existing theories of addiction and substance use to include a new model to understand consumption of khat not only among migrant communities in the West but also in conflict and post conflict settings. This will take account of the cultural context, and the socio-economic and psychological implications of khat use. This would allow the formulation of appropriate and contextualised social policy and harm reduction strategies, particularly in the context of maximising impacts from campaigns against global poverty.
(NPR) — Though the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie was considered a god by Rastafarians, in Bob Marley’s day, reggae was wasn’t popular in Ethiopia. Now, though, reggae is huge i the East African nation, and there’s no bigger start than Teddy Afro.
Click here to listen a report by NPR’s All Things Considered.
Craig Mottram after his famous 3,000 metres victory ahead of Kenenisa Bekele in last year’s IAAF World Cup final, chases another success against the Ethiopian star at the Nike Prefontaine Classic.
Mottram in what promises to be a fast two miles contest on Sunday in Eugene, faces not only Ethiopia’s Olympic 10,000m gold medallist, but his equally talented younger brother Tariku, the world junior 5,000m champion.
Kenya’s Ben Limo the reigning world 5,000m title holder and Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea who lifted the World Cross Country crown ahead of Kenenisa in March, also compete.
“I’ve raced Bekele a few times and only beaten him once, so of course I’d love to beat him again,” Mottram who has been training at altitude in the USA, told reporters.
The Commonwealth 5,000m silver medallist planning this August in Osaka to improve on the bronze medal he won at the 2005 World Championships, is again aiming for a top showing against his rival.
Mottram said: “Apparently he is not planning on running the 5km in Osaka so it will be more about my own confidence than planning a specific race plan to use against Bekele.
“I want to compete well and get used to the level of intensity I know to expect when you race the likes of Bekele.
“I’m only planning one 5k before Osaka and that’s in Ostrava,” taking place in the Czech Republic on June 27.
“Of course I want it to go well. I need races of this quality to condition me to be able to maintain the pace
“I’ll need to be competitive in Ostrava and to take my training to the next level in the final two months before Osaka.”
The two-year-old “Pref” meeting record of eight minutes 07.68seconds will be threatened while Mottram could challenge his national record of 8min 11.27sec.
He said: “The Australian record is not a target but I suspect there’s a good chance I’ll go under it if I achieve my aim of competing well against the Bekele brothers and the others.
“I’d be surprised if the race isn’t won under 8.10 and I expect to be right in it no matter what speed we race at.”
Brussels, Belgium 06/07 – A Committee of the European Parliament has strongly criticised what it called “massive human rights violations” going on in Ethiopia since 2005.
“The human rights situation has been deteriorating in Ethiopia since 2005, with opposition members put in jail, while rights activists are awaiting trial,” the Committee`s chair, Josep Borrel, said at a parliamentary debate.
The Ethiopian ambassador to Belgium, Ato Berhane Gebré-Christos, had been invited to the EU parliamentary debate, but he was said to have turned down the invitation.
In a letter to the European Parliament, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry reportedly said Addis Ababa could not honour the invitation because the “expected speakers might not provide an objective assessment of the situation in Ethiopia.”
Hélène Flautre, chair of the EU parliament`s Human Rights sub-committee, claimed that Ethiopia`s May 2005 legislative elections, were marred by fraud.
“The attitudes of the Ethiopian government, which violates its people`s human rights and aspirations for democracy, and the Ethiopian troops that invaded Somalia pretending to be fighting terrorism, are shameful,” declared another EU MP Ana Gomes, who led an EU observer mission to Ethiopia. In a resolution in November 2006, the European Parliament had requested the publication of the final report of the Ethiopian government`s inquiry into the May 2005 legislative elections.
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS — Police arrested a man suspected of hitting a pole with a car and almost knocking down an employee from Cox Communications, who was working on the pole Friday morning.
Assefa G. Egziabher, 30, of Fayetteville was arrested in a house after leaving the scene of the accident near South Washington Avenue and 15th Street. where the accident happened, said Sgt. Mike Key, Fayetteville Police spokesman.
According to a police report, Egziabher, a native of Ethiopian, fled the scene on foot and hid in a house near the site of the accident, where police arrested him.
Cox employee Russell Beard had called police and said he was almost knocked down when the pole was hit by the car.
According to the police report, a woman was asking witnesses not to call the police. There was an empty holster in the vehicle.
Assefa is being held at the Washington County Jail.
LONDON (Reuters) – Twice Olympic 10,000 metres champion Haile Gebrselassie will attempt the 16-year-old world one-hour record this year after making a surprise return to the track in the Dutch town of Hengelo last month.
The 34-year-old Ethiopian retired from track running to concentrate on the marathon after finishing fifth in the 2004 Athens Olympics 10,000 metres final.
In Hengelo he again finished fifth in 26 minutes 52.81 seconds, the eighth time he has clocked under 27 minutes.
In an interview on Thursday, Gebrselassie said he had run in the Netherlands to check on his speed prior to making an attempt on Arturo Barrios’s world one-hour record.
The Mexican, who is now based in the United States, covered 21.101 km in La Fleche, France, on March 30, 1991.
“I want to attack the world one-hour record soon, somewhere here in England or somewhere else,” he told Reuters. “This year I will try that. My speed is still there and everything looks okay.”
Gebrselassie, who set 17 world records and won four world 10,000 metres world titles in a row, was forced to pull out of an attempt on the world one-hour mark in Hengelo in 2002 with cramps in his right leg.
He was scheduled to have another crack at the record at the same venue last year but withdrew before the event. His Dutch manager Jos Hermens set a world record for the rarely run event in 1976.
Gebrselassie, who is in London for the launch of a Group 4 Securicor global sports programme on Friday, will not run in the Osaka world championships this year but plans to compete in the marathon at next year’s Beijing Olympics.
He then hopes to run at the 2012 London Games as well.
“I will be 39 in 2012,” he said. “The weather and everything is perfect. For me running is my life so why stop running?”
