Effect of Khat Chewing and Smoking on Liver Function According to Blood Group Among Students at Amran University
Authors: Othman Munif A. A. , Awash Saleh , ALtholi Abdukraqeeb , Alkuzyma Raad , Almaamari Mohammed , AL-Badawi Omar , Jarallah Mohammed , Al-alii Bushra , ALmandleeg Jihad , Almamare Nawras , Meftah Sarah , Al-khadri Sara , Seba'an Ebtesam , Naja Bidawr Abo , Naji Rehab , Al-faqih Rawan 
Published: October 2024

Background: Khat is a natural stimulant from the Catha edulis plant, which grows mainly in Yemen. The liver is suspected to be vulnerable to the harmful effects of khat use. Our objective to the present study aimed to determine the effect of khat chewing and smoking on liver function according to ABO blood group among students at Amran University, Amran city, Yemen, – 2023.
Methods: Liver function tests were performed on 183 chronic khat chewers (group I) and 58 individuals who did not chew khat (group II).
Results: Seventy - six percent of the patients in group I and only 24% of those in group II reported abnormally elevated glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) levels (p = 0.04) for males with O+ and A+ blood group types only, and ALP levels (p = 0.0218) for males with A+ blood group types only. LDH levels (p = 0.0492) for males were O+, A+, and B+ blood group types and those for females were A+ blood group types. T.bilirubin levels were significantly different (p = 0.0326) for males with A+, B+, O+, and O- blood group types and females with O+ & O- only. D.bilirubin levels (p = 0.0134) for males with A+, B+, O+, and O- blood group types and females with O+ only. With respect to other liver function tests, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups, in GGT (p = 0.0684). T. Protein (p = 0.0655), or Albumin (p = 0.0513) levels between males and females and in the GOT test (p = 0.07), with a 26% level of O+ in females chewed with khat. The duration of khat chewing was highly significantly associated with all age groups, such as D.bilirubin (P = 0.0134), T.bilirubin (P = 0.0326), LDH (P = 0.049), and GPT (P = 0.046). There was an association between chewing khat and nonsmokers, such as D. Bilirubin, T. Bilirubin, LDH, T. Protein, and GPT. There were no statistically significant difference in GGT, GOT, GGT, or Albumin. With respect to other liver function tests, there were no statistically significant decreases between the categories of khat chewing and swallowing habits in terms of liver function percentage, such as D. bilirubin (14.9%), T. bilirubin (7.2%), LDH (5%), T. protein (4.7%) and GPT (4.1%). In contrast, dietary lifestyle home food, such as D. bilirubin (22.5%), T. bilirubin (10%), LDH (8.3%), T. protein (8.3%), GPT (5%), and GGT (4.2%), significantly decreased liver function (category 1). However, other liver functions, such as ALP, GOT and Albumin, were not significant.
Conclusion: ABO blood group is a significant factor in determining the effect of khat chewing on liver enzymes, and provides valuable insights into the complex interplay among khat chewing, sex, and ABO blood groups in terms of their impact on liver enzyme levels. Keywords: ABO blood group types, alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, liver function test, chewing khat, smoking.