Differences in the Health Status of Karo Women Consuming Tobacco and Coconut Fronds Shavings in Sembahe Baru Village, Deli Serdang Regency Karo-Karo Ulina1, Yustina Ida2, Sudaryati Etty2, Zuska Fikarwin3 1Faculty of Public Health, University of Prima, Indonesia 2Faculty of Public Health, University of North Sumatra 3Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of North Sumatra Online published on 21 February, 2019. Abstract The habit of chewing tobacco of Karo women is called menyuntil. Long-term use of tobacco can have negative health effects such as causing damage to the lungs, heart, teeth and blood vessels, and can cause cancer. As an alternative, some Karo women replace tobacco with coconut frond shavings, particularly when tobacco prices are high. The habit of chewing coconut frond shavings eventually became a habit. The purpose of this study was to analyse the differences in health status of Karo women who chew tobacco as compared to coconut frond shavings. The research design was cross sectional, with a sample of 50 Karo women who chewed tobacco and 50 who chewed coconut frond shavings in Sembahe Baru Village, Pancur Batu District. The medical examination measured participants’ blood pressure using the NOVA mercury sphygmomanometer method, and blood sugar with the GOD-PAP method using a spectrophotometric device. Additionally, dental examinations were carried out by dental nurses from the Medan City Health Service. Differences were assessed using the Mann Whitney (T Independent non parametric) and Chi-square statistical tests. This study found that there were differences in blood pressure, dental health and blood sugar levels between women who chewed tobacco compared to women who chewed coconut frond shavings (p <0.05). Top Keywords Health status, Tobacco, Coconut and shavings chewing. Top |