High Seroprevalence of Autoantibodies Typical of Autoimmune Liver Disease in Eastern Ethiopia: Is Chewing of Khat (Catha edulis) a Triggering Factor?

Table 3

Association between khat and frequency of circulating SMA or AMA, by khat level.

Variable	Crude OR	Significance	Adjusted OR^1	Significance
	(95% CI)	(p)	(95% CI)	(p)
SMA
Nonusers^2	1		1
Light users^3	0.78 (0.33-1.84)	0.571	0.89 (0.37-2.12)	0.785
Heavy users^4	1.53 (0.71-3.28)	0.276	1.80 (0.76-4.26)	0.180
AMA
Nonusers^2	1		1
Light users^3	0.82 (0.42-1.59)	0.563	0.81 (0.42-1.60)	0.551
Heavy users^4	0.98 (0.51-1.88)	0.949	1.21 (0.58-2.52)	0.608

(1) Adjusted for the confounding effects of age and sex.
(2) Reference group
(3) 15 khat-years⁵
(4) >15 khat-years⁵
(5) One khat-year was defined as daily use of 200 grams fresh khat for one year.
Abbreviations. OR: odds ratio; CI: confidence interval; SMA: antismooth muscle antibodies; AMA: antimitochondrial antibodies.