Khat chewing habit produces a significant adverse effect on periodontal, oral health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Although there is a general agreement that a khat chewing habit produces clinicopathological changes in the oral mucosa. However there is no reliable evidence of the effects of a khat chewing habit on the periodontal tissues. Thus, authors aimed to investigate the influence of khat chewing habits on periodontal, oral health, by comparing khat chewers to non-chewers in respect of gingival recession, periodontal pocketing depth and loss of attachment. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus and grey literature. The inclusion criteria were all studies with aims of comparing khat chewers and/or sides to non-chewers and/or sides in respect of gingival recession, periodontal pocketing depth and loss of attachment. For continuous data, we computed weighted mean difference or standard mean difference analyses. An odds ratio using a random effect model was used if heterogeneity was detected; otherwise, a fixed effects model with a 95% confidence interval was used for continuous data. Two subgroups were analysed: khat chewers vs non-chewers and khat chewer sides vs non-chewer sides of the chewer's individuals. A total of 6373 participants were enrolled in 12 studies (khat chewers=3812, non-chewers=2561). There were statistically significant differences between khat and non-chewers in both subgroup analyses regarding gingival recession, periodontal pocketing depth and loss of attachment (P<.05). The odds ratios for khat chewers compared to non-chewers, in respect of depth of periodontal pocket and gingival recession were 4.797 and 6.853 respectively. The results of this meta-analysis have shown that the khat chewing habit produces a destructive and adverse effect on periodontal, oral health.