Background Khat chewing has become prevalent in the world due to the improvement of road and air transportation. In Ethiopia, khat chewing is more prevalent and wildly practiced by men. Khat has a negative effect on social, economic and mental health. Therefore, this study aims to show spatial patterns and factors associated with khat chewing among male adults 15-59 years in Ethiopia.
Methods A total of 12,594 men who chew khat in their were included in this study. ArcGIS version 10.7 software was used to visualize spatial pattern chewing khat among adult men in Ethiopia. The Bernoulli model was applied using Kilduff SaTScan version 9.6 software to identify significant purely spatial clusters for chewing khat in Ethiopia. The robust standard error method of generalized estimating equations was used for the binary outcome variable from the clustered data and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were reported.
Results A total of 12,594 participants were included in the analysis. The prevalence of ever khat chewing in this study was 3418 (27.14%) with 95% CI 26.37% to 27.92%. From EDHS 2016 survey the high proportion of chewing khat was located in Diredawa, Harari, Southern Oromia, Somai and Benishangu Gumuz Regions. In spatial scan statistics analysis, a total of 126 clusters (RR= 4.02, P-value < 0.001) was identified. Age group 30-44 (AOR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.62), being single (AOR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.64, 2.12), Muslim religion (AOR=4.91, 95% CI: 3.69, 8.19), media exposure (AOR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.86), working status(AOR=0.45, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.53), alcohol drinking (AOR=2.91, 95% CI: 2.43, 3.39) and region were statistically significant factors affecting chewing Khat in Ethiopia.
Conclusions The prevalence of chewing chat in Ethiopia was high and located in Diredawa, Harari, Southern Oromia, Somai and Benishangu Gumuz Regions. Older age group, single, drinker, media unexposed, had no work and Muslim religion follower should be given spatial attention in reducing the prevalence of chewing khat. Therefore, it is good to teach the health impact of khat chewing through media.