The prevalence of and factors associated with tobacco smoking behavior among long-distance drivers in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Factors associated with tobacco smoking are useful in designing tobacco control programs.Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with tobacco smoking among long-distance drivers.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Stratified cluster sampling approach was used to select drivers based on if they received annual health screening (AHS) or not (non AHS). We used a structured questionnaire to obtain information and weighted the resulting observations to derive population based estimates. Association between tobacco smoking and socio-demographic factors was explored in multivariate models.Results: 414 male drivers, mean age 43.6 (standard error 0.6) years. Population weighted prevalence of current smoking was 18.9% (95% CI: 14.3-23.4) of all drivers, 6.5% (95% CI: 2.6-10.4) of AHS drivers and 19.5 (95% CI: 14.7-24.2) of non AHS drivers (p<0.001). In multivariate models, having close friends that smoked (OR= 6.36, 95% CI= 2.49 - 16.20) cargo driving (OR= 2.58, 95% CI= 1.29 - 5.15) and lower education levels (OR for post-secondary education vs. primary education or less= 0.17, 95% CI= 0.04 - 0.81) were associated with current smoking.Conclusion: Prevalence of tobacco smoking is higher among non AHS compared to AHS drivers. Having close friends that smoked, cargo driving, and lower education levels were associated with current smoking.Keywords: Tobacco smoking behavior, long-distance drivers, Lagos, Nigeri

The prevalence of and factors associated with tobacco smoking behavior among long-distance drivers in Lagos, Nigeria.

Background: Factors associated with tobacco smoking are useful in designing tobacco control programs. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with tobacco smoking among long-distance drivers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Stratified cluster sampling approach was used to select drivers based on if they received annual health screening (AHS) or not (non AHS). We used a structured questionnaire to obtain information and weighted the resulting observations to derive population based estimates. Association between tobacco smoking and socio-demographic factors was explored in multivariate models. Results: 414 male drivers, mean age 43.6 (standard error 0.6) years. Population weighted prevalence of current smoking was 18.9% (95% CI: 14.3-23.4) of all drivers, 6.5% (95% CI: 2.6-10.4) of AHS drivers and 19.5 (95% CI: 14.7-24.2) of non AHS drivers (p<0.001). In multivariate models, having close friends that smoked (OR= 6.36, 95% CI= 2.49 - 16.20) cargo driving (OR= 2.58, 95% CI= 1.29 - 5.15) and lower education levels (OR for post-secondary education vs. primary education or less= 0.17, 95% CI= 0.04 - 0.81) were associated with current smoking. Conclusion: Prevalence of tobacco smoking is higher among non AHS compared to AHS drivers. Having close friends that smoked, cargo driving, and lower education levels were associated with current smoking

The role of inflammation in the metabolic syndrome

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in adult Nigerians with the metabolic syndrome and to determine the relationship between components of the metabolic syndrome and CRP in adult Nigerians. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study of 50 adult men and women with metabolic syndrome and 50 age- and sex-matched men and women without metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants. Blood pressure and anthropometric measurements were taken and venous blood was collected after an overnight fast. The Ethics Committee of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria approved the study protocol. Comparisons of the continuous variables and the categorical variables were done using the Student's t-test and Chi-square test, respectively. Regression analysis was used to determine the associations between the variables. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The study subjects differed in some clinical and laboratory parameters such as diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.048), waist circumference (P = 0.002), body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.012), waist/hip ratio (P = 0.023), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (P = 0.012), and insulin resistance (P = 0.042). There was a statistically significant increase in the inflammatory marker, CRP (P = 0.019), cytokines, IL-6 (P = 0.040), and TNFα (P = 0.031) between the subjects with and without metabolic syndrome. There was also a positive significant association between CRP, waist circumference, and insulin resistance and a negative significant association between CRP and HDL in metabolic syndrome (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study reports increased plasma levels of the inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, TNFα and in the inflammatory marker and CRP in metabolic syndrome. Understanding the role of inflammation in the metabolic syndrome may provide novel strategies for the management of metabolic syndrome and related disorders

Cooking Fuels in Lagos, Nigeria: Factors Associated with Household Choice of Kerosene or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Cooking with dirty-burning fuels is associated with health risk from household air pollution. We assessed the prevalence of and factors associated with the use of cooking fuels, and attitudes and barriers towards use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This was a cross-sectional, population-based survey conducted in 519 households in Lagos, Nigeria. We used a structured questionnaire to obtain information regarding choice of household cooking fuel and the attitudes towards the use of LPG. Kerosene was the most frequently used cooking fuel ( = 475, 91.5%; primary use = 364, 70.1%) followed by charcoal ( = 159, 30.6%; primary use = 88, 17%) and LPG ( = 86, 16.6%; primary use = 63, 12.1%). Higher level of education, higher income and younger age were associated with LPG vs. kerosene use. Fuel expenditure on LPG was significantly lower than for kerosene ( N (Naira) 2169.0 ± 1507.0 vs. N 2581.6 ± 1407.5). Over 90% of non-LPG users were willing to switch to LPG but cited safety issues and high cost as potential barriers to switching. Our findings suggest that misinformation and beliefs regarding benefits, safety and cost of LPG are important barriers to LPG use. An educational intervention program could be a cost-effective approach to improve LPG adoption and should be formally addressed through a well-designed community-based intervention study