Prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency in Nigerian preschool children subsisting on high intakes of carotenes

The prevalence of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency was determined in 204 preschool children of both sexes aged 3–57 months. The children were recruited from 2 rural communities of Atakumosa Local Government Area of Osun State in South West Nigeria. Dietary vitamin A intake was estimated from frequency of consumption of locally available vitamin A containing food items. Vitamin A status of the children was assessed from concentration of retinol in plasma. Nutritional status was assessed from height and weight compared with international reference standards. The results indicate widespread malnutrition among the children. The prevalence of stunting (low height for age) was 60.8% while prevalence of wasting (low weight for height) was 7.4% and of underweight (low weight for age) 27.5%. Dietary vitamin A intake appeared to be adequate in the children. Intake of vitamin A is predominantly from plant sources. At least 43% of the children consumed the carotene rich red palm oil 6 or more times per week in contrast to less than 1% who consumed eggs or milk for 6 or more times per week. Vitamin A deficiency was low in the children. Only 11.3% of the children had plasma retinol concentration <0.70µmol/L. The results indicate that childhood malnutrition of public health magnitude can coexist with adequate dietary vitamin A intakes or vitamin A status

Blindness and visual impairment among the elderly in Ife-Ijesha zone of Osun State, Nigeria

Background: To provide information on the prevalence of visual impairment, blindness and the leading causes of visual changes among the elderly in Ife-Ijesha zone of Osun state in Nigeria. Design: A cross-sectional descriptive community based study Methods: All people aged 60years or older were gathered at various centres in Ife-Ijesha zone of Osun State, Nigeria. They were all screened for various medical problems including eye ailments and blindness according to World Health Organisation (WHO) definition. Information was retrieved and clinical examination conducted by the ophthalmologist in the team. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results: Out of the 681 elderly who presented for medical check up, 445 had eye problems. A few 25 (5.6&#x0025;) were bilaterally blind while 202 (45.4&#x0025;) were visually impaired according to the WHO definition of blindness and visual impairment. Blindness was twice as common in men as in women and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.0001). Cataract (42.3&#x0025;), glaucoma (32.4&#x0025;) and uncorrected aphakia (9.9&#x0025;) were the leading causes of blindness in 69 eyes while 80&#x0025; of visual impairment was due to cataract alone. Conclusions: The prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in this study population is high. These findings in a community where most of the elderly are fast losing traditionally accorded attention due to civilization and urban movement call for a great concern

Strengthening public health education in population and reproductive health through an innovative academic partnership in Africa: the Gates partners experience.

Poor reproductive health constitutes one of the leading public health problems in the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We report here an academic partnership that commenced in 2003 between a US institution and six universities in SSA. The partnership addresses the human resources development challenge in Africa by strengthening public health education and research capacity to improve population and reproductive health (PRH) outcomes in low-resource settings. The partnership's core activities focused on increasing access to quality education, strengthening health research capacity and translating scholarship and science into policy and practices. Partnership programmes focused on the educational dimension of the human resources equation provide students with improved learning facilities and enhanced work environments and also provide faculty with opportunities for professional development and an enhanced capacity for curriculum delivery. By 2007, 48 faculty members from the six universities in SSA attended PRH courses at Johns Hopkins University, 93 PRH courses were offered across the six universities, 625 of their master's students elected PRH concentrations and 158 had graduated. With the graduation of these and future student cohorts, the universities in SSA will systematically be expanding the number of public health practitioners and strengthening programme effectiveness to resolve reproductive health needs. Some challenges facing the partnership are described in this article

Prevalence and time trends in obesity among adult West African populations:a meta-analysis

The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of and trends in obesity in adult West African populations. Between February and March 2007, a comprehensive literature search was conducted using four electronic databases. Journal hand searches, citations and bibliographic snowballing of relevant articles were also undertaken. To be included, studies had to be population-based, use well-defined criteria for measuring obesity, present data that allowed calculation of the prevalence of obesity and sample adult participants. Studies retrieved were critically appraised. Meta-analysis was performed using the DerSimonian-Laird random effect model. Twenty-eight studies were included. Thirteen studies were conducted in urban settings, 13 in mixed urban/rural and one in rural setting. Mean body mass index ranged from 20.1 to 27.0 kg(2). Prevalence of obesity in West Africa was estimated at 10.0% (95% CI, 6.0-15.0). Women were more likely to be obese than men, odds ratios 3.16 (95% CI, 2.51-3.98) and 4.79 (95% CI, 3.30-6.95) in urban and rural areas respectively. Urban residents were more likely to be obese than rural residents, odds ratio 2.70 (95% CI, 1.76-4.15). Time trend analyses indicated that prevalence of obesity in urban West Africa more than doubled (114%) over 15 years, accounted for almost entirely in women. Urban residents and women have particularly high risk of overweight/obesity and obesity is rising fast in women. Policymakers, politicians and health promotion experts must urgently help communities control the spread of obesity in West Africa