BACKGROUND: Areca nut is the seed of fruit oriental palm known as Areca catechu. Many adverse effects of nut chewing have been well documented in the medical literature. As these nuts are mixed with some other substances like tobacco and flavouring agents, it has been hypothesized that it might also cause some dependency symptoms among its users. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate dependency syndrome among areca nut users with and without tobacco additives and compare it with dependency associated with cigarette smoking among the male Pakistani population. METHODS: This was an observational cross sectional study carried out on healthy individuals, who were users of any one of the three products (areca nut only, areca nut with tobacco additives, cigarette smokers). Participants were selected by convenience sampling of people coming to hospital to seek a free oral check up. Information was collected about the socio-demographic profile, pattern of use and symptoms of dependency using the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence. We carried out multiple logistic regressions to investigate association between socio-demographic profile, pattern of substance use and dependency syndrome. RESULTS: We carried out final analysis on 851 individuals, of which 36.8% (n = 314) were areca nut users, 28.4% (n = 242) were the chewers of areca with tobacco additives and 34.7% (n = 295) were regular cigarette smokers. Multivariate analyses showed that individuals using areca nut with tobacco additives were significantly more likely to have dependency syndrome (OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.39-3.40) while cigarette smokers were eight times more likely to have dependency syndrome as compared to areca nut only users. CONCLUSIONS: Areca nut use with and without tobacco additives was significantly associated with dependency syndrome. In comparison to exclusive areca nut users, the smokers were eight times more likely to develop dependence while areca nut users with tobacco additives were also significantly more likely to suffer from the dependence.
BACKGROUND:Areca nut is the seed of fruit oriental palm known as Areca catechu. Many adverse effects of nut chewing have been well documented in the medical literature. As these nuts are mixed with some other substances like tobacco and flavouring agents, it has been hypothesized that it might also cause some dependency symptoms among its users. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate dependency syndrome among areca nut users with and without tobacco additives and compare it with dependency associated with cigarette smoking among the male Pakistani population. METHODS: This was an observational cross sectional study carried out on healthy individuals, who were users of any one of the three products (areca nut only, areca nut with tobacco additives, cigarette smokers). Participants were selected by convenience sampling of people coming to hospital to seek a free oral check up. Information was collected about the socio-demographic profile, pattern of use and symptoms of dependency using the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence. We carried out multiple logistic regressions to investigate association between socio-demographic profile, pattern of substance use and dependency syndrome. RESULTS: We carried out final analysis on 851 individuals, of which 36.8% (n = 314) were areca nut users, 28.4% (n = 242) were the chewers of areca with tobacco additives and 34.7% (n = 295) were regular cigarette smokers. Multivariate analyses showed that individuals using areca nut with tobacco additives were significantly more likely to have dependency syndrome (OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.39-3.40) while cigarette smokers were eight times more likely to have dependency syndrome as compared to areca nut only users. CONCLUSIONS:Areca nut use with and without tobacco additives was significantly associated with dependency syndrome. In comparison to exclusive areca nut users, the smokers were eight times more likely to develop dependence while areca nut users with tobacco additives were also significantly more likely to suffer from the dependence.
Authors: Brian O'Neill; Dana Lauterstein; Jyoti C Patel; Judith T Zelikoff; Margaret E Rice Journal: ACS Chem Neurosci Date: 2015-04-01 Impact factor: 4.418
Authors: Chien-Hung Lee; Albert Min-Shan Ko; Frances M Yang; Chung-Chieh Hung; Saman Warnakulasuriya; Salah Osman Ibrahim; Rosnah Binti Zain; Ying-Chin Ko Journal: JAMA Psychiatry Date: 2018-03-01 Impact factor: 21.596
Authors: Yvette C Paulino; Lynne R Wilkens; Patrick P Sotto; Adrian A Franke; Crissy T Kawamoto; Jade S N Chennaux; Ana Joy Mendez; Lynnette F Tenorio; Grazyna Badowski; Pallav Pokhrel; Thaddeus A Herzog Journal: Contemp Clin Trials Commun Date: 2020-02-21
Authors: Suzanne M de la Monte; Natalia Moriel; Amy Lin; Nada Abdullah Tanoukhy; Camille Homans; Gina Gallucci; Ming Tong; Ayumi Saito Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-09-14 Impact factor: 3.390