High level of co-occurrence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases among Gambian adults: A national population-based health examination survey

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. Co-occurrence of risk factors predisposes an individual to NCDs; the burden increases cumulatively with the number of risk factors. Our study aimed to examine the co-occurrence of NCD risk factors among adults in The Gambia. This study is based on a random nationally representative sample of 4111 adults aged 25-64 years (78% response rate) with data collected between January and March 2010 in The Gambia using the WHO STEPwise survey methods. We restricted our analysis to non-pregnant participants with valid information on five NCD risk factors: high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, low fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical inactivity (n = 3000 adults with complete data on all risk factors). We conducted age-adjusted and fully-adjusted gender stratified multinomial logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with the number of NCD risk factors. More than 90% of adults had at least one risk factor. Only 7% (95% CI: 5.2-9.8) had no risk factor; 22% (95% CI: 19.1-24.9) had at least three. Older age and ethnicity were significantly associated with having three or more risk factors (versus none) among men in the fully adjusted model. Lower education, older age, and urban residence were significantly associated with three or more risk factors (versus none) among women. The burden of NCDs is expected to increase in The Gambia if preventive and control measures are not taken. There should be an integrated approach targeting all risk factors, including wider treatment and control of hypertension

The silent epidemic of obesity in The Gambia: evidence from a nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional health examination survey

OBJECTIVES: Non-communicable diseases account for 70% of global deaths; 80% occur in low-income and middle-income countries. The rapid increase of obesity in sub-Saharan Africa is a concern. We assessed generalised and abdominal obesity and their associated risk factors among adults in The Gambia. DESIGN: Nationwide cross-sectional health examination survey using the WHO STEPwise survey methods. SETTING: The Gambia. PARTICIPANTS: This study uses secondary analysis of a 2010 nationally representative random sample of adults aged 25-64 years (78% response rate). The target sample size was 5280, and 4111 responded. Analysis was restricted to non-pregnant participants with valid weight and height measurements (n=3533). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome variable was generalised obesity, using WHO body mass index (BMI) thresholds. Analyses used non-response weighting and adjusted for the complex survey design. We conducted multinomial logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with BMI categories. The secondary outcome variable was abdominal obesity, defined as high waist circumference (using the International Diabetes Federation thresholds for Europeans). RESULTS: Two-fifths of adults were overweight/obese, with a higher obesity prevalence in women (17%, 95% CI 14.7 to 19.7; men 8%, 95% CI 6.0 to 11.0). 10% of men and 8% of women were underweight. Urban residence (adjusted relative risk ratio 5.8, 95% CI 2.4 to 14.5), higher education (2.3, 1.2 to 4.5), older age, ethnicity, and low fruit and vegetable intake (2.8, 1.1 to 6.8) were strongly associated with obesity among men. Urban residence (4.7, 2.7 to 8.2), higher education (2.6, 1.1 to 6.4), older age and ethnicity were associated with obesity in women. CONCLUSION: There is a high burden of overweight/obesity in The Gambia. While obesity rates in rural areas were lower than in urban areas, obesity prevalence was higher among rural residents in this study compared with previous findings. Preventive strategies should be directed at raising awareness, discouraging harmful beliefs on weight, and promoting healthy diets and physical activity

Burden of hypertension in The Gambia: evidence from a national World Health Organization (WHO) STEP survey

Background: Non-communicable diseases are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa and are estimated to account for 32% of adult deaths in The Gambia. Worldwide, prevalence of hypertension is highest in the African region (46%) and a very high proportion is undiagnosed. This study examined diagnosed and undiagnosed hypertension in The Gambian adult population. Methods: Data were collected in 2010 from a nationally representative random sample of 4111 adults aged 25-64 years, using the World Health Organization STEPwise cross-sectional survey methods. Analyses were restricted to non-pregnant participants with three valid blood pressure measurements (n = 3573). We conducted gender-stratified univariate and multivariate regression analyses to identify the strongest sociodemographic, behavioural and biological risk factors associated with hypertension. Results: Almost one-third of adults were hypertensive; a high proportion were undiagnosed, particularly among men (86% of men vs 71% of women with hypertension, P < 0.001). Rural and semi-urban residents and overweight/obese persons had increased odds of hypertension. Compared with urban residents, participants from one of the most rural regions had higher odds of hypertension among both men [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.2; 95% CI: 1.6-6.4] and women (AOR 2.5; 95% CI: 1.3-4.6). Other factors strongly associated with hypertension in multivariate analyses were age, smoking, physical inactivity and ethnicity. Conclusions: Rural and semi-urban residence were strongly associated with hypertension, contrary to what has been found in similar studies in sub-Saharan Africa. Intervention to reduce the burden of hypertension in The Gambia could be further targeted towards rural areas

The burden of non-TB lung disease presenting to TB clinics in The Gambia: preliminary data in the Xpert® MTB/Rif era

In some low and middle-income countries, 10-20% of patients presenting with a persistent cough have tuberculosis (TB). Once TB is excluded, health service provision for alternative diagnoses is limited. We prospectively studied patients with two Xpert-negative sputum results presenting to a TB clinic in The Gambia. Of 239 patients, 108 did not have TB; 65/102 (6 were lost to follow-up) had alternative diagnoses, 24.6% of which were non-respiratory; 37/102 had no diagnosis, 27.0% of whom were HIV-1-positive; 37.8% had a history of TB and 24.3% smoked. We highlight the need for general health service integration with TB platforms and exploration of non-TB patients with chronic respiratory symptoms

Impact of routine vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b in The Gambia: 20 years after its introduction

Background: In 1997, The Gambia introduced three primary doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine without a booster in its infant immunisation programme along with establishment of a population-based surveillance on Hib meningitis in the West Coast Region (WCR). This surveillance was stopped in 2002 with reported elimination of Hib disease. This was re-established in 2008 but stopped again in 2010. We aimed to re-establish the surveillance in WCR and to continue surveillance in Basse Health and Demographic Surveillance System (BHDSS) in the east of the country to assess any shifts in the epidemiology of Hib disease in The Gambia. Methods: In WCR, population-based surveillance for Hib meningitis was re-established in children aged under-10 years from 24 December 2014 to 31 March 2017, using conventional microbiology and Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). In BHDSS, population-based surveillance for Hib disease was conducted in children aged 2-59 months from 12 May 2008 to 31 December 2017 using conventional microbiology only. Hib carriage survey was carried out in pre-school and school children from July 2015 to November 2016. Results: In WCR, five Hib meningitis cases were detected using conventional microbiology while another 14 were detected by RT-PCR. Of the 19 cases, two (11%) were too young to be protected by vaccination while seven (37%) were unvaccinated. Using conventional microbiology, the incidence of Hib meningitis per 100 000-child-year (CY) in children aged 1-59 months was 0.7 in 2015 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.0-3.7) and 2.7 (95% CI = 0.7-7.0) in 2016. In BHDSS, 25 Hib cases were reported. Nine (36%) were too young to be protected by vaccination and five (20%) were under-vaccinated for age. Disease incidence peaked in 2012-2013 at 15 per 100 000 CY and fell to 5-8 per 100 000 CY over the subsequent four years. The prevalence of Hib carriage was 0.12% in WCR and 0.38% in BHDSS. Conclusions: After 20 years of using three primary doses of Hib vaccine without a booster Hib transmission continues in The Gambia, albeit at low rates. Improved coverage and timeliness of vaccination are of high priority for Hib disease in settings like Gambia, and there are currently no clear indications of a need for a booster dose

A practical guide to cross-cultural and multi-sited data collection in the biological and behavioural sciences.

Researchers in the biological and behavioural sciences are increasingly conducting collaborative, multi-sited projects to address how phenomena vary across ecologies. These types of projects, however, pose additional workflow challenges beyond those typically encountered in single-sited projects. Through specific attention to cross-cultural research projects, we highlight four key aspects of multi-sited projects that must be considered during the design phase to ensure success: (1) project and team management; (2) protocol and instrument development; (3) data management and documentation; and (4) equitable and collaborative practices. Our recommendations are supported by examples from our experiences collaborating on the Evolutionary Demography of Religion project, a mixed-methods project collecting data across five countries in collaboration with research partners in each host country. To existing discourse, we contribute new recommendations around team and project management, introduce practical recommendations for exploring the validity of instruments through qualitative techniques during piloting, highlight the importance of good documentation at all steps of the project, and demonstrate how data management workflows can be strengthened through open science practices. While this project was rooted in cross-cultural human behavioural ecology and evolutionary anthropology, lessons learned from this project are applicable to multi-sited research across the biological and behavioural sciences

Feed supplementation of lactating N'Dama cows under village husbandry

Groups of lactating N'Dama cows maintained under traditional husbandry conditions were given dry season supplements of locally available oil seed residues to establish nutritional recommendations for improving livestock productivity in the sub-humid zone of West Africa. In one experiment cows were given 0 or 1 kg cotton seed head-1 day -1 for the last five months of the dry season in three Gambian villages. In a second experiment cows were given a total of 90 kg sesame cake over the last six months of the dry season, at rates of 1 kg day-1 for the first or last three months, or 0.5 kg day-1 throughout. During this period the provision of supplements produced significant overall average increases exceeding 60 percent in both milk offtake for human consumption and calf growth. Maternal liveweight losses were reduced by a mean of 30 percent. Concomitant significant increases in postpartum resumption of reproductive activity (two-to three-fold) and reduced calf mortality also occurred, while evidence was obtained that the improved diet better enabled the animals to withstand the effects of trypanosome infections. It was demonstrated that the dry-season provision of oil seed residues to lactating N'Dama cows in this environment can be expected to produce an extra litre of milk offtake, 260 g calf growth, and 380 g maternal liveweight gain kg-1 crude protein supplied , in addition to the improvement in other productivity characteristics. The second experiment showed much greater efficiency of resource use when fed more slowly for the longer period, and the economic benefits of such interventions appear to be substantial

Feed supplementation of village-based N'Dama calves

Four experiments were carried out in which supplements of locally available proteinaceous by-products were given to young, mainly pre-weaned calves that ranged in initial weight from 30 to 90 kg. The experiments were part of a programme designed to establish practical and economical nutrition interventions for the improved productivity of N'Dama cattle under traditional village husbandry in a sub-humid agro-ecological environment in West Africa. The supplements included groundnut cake, sesame cake, and cotton seed, supplied during both the dry and wet seasons. While significant increases in growth rate were obtained to both dry and wet season supplementation, the responses were both inconsistent and much smaller than those obtained in other studies with older weaned N'Dama cattle. It is concluded that feed supplementation of young cattle should probably be restricted to animal whose liveweight exceeds 100 kg

Effect of groundnut cake supplementation during the dry season on productivity characteristics of N'Dama cows under village husbandry conditions in The Gambia

Reports an experiment in which small quantities of groundnut cake were fed during the dry season to lactating N'Dama cows maintained under village husbandry conditions in The Gambia, resulting in significant increases in quantities of milk offtake and in rates of growth of the suckling calves, and in significant losses of maternal liveweight during these feeding periods; and presents the results of a preliminary cost-benefit analysis as a promising basis for improvement of village husbandry systems in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of sub-Saharan Africa