Parental influence on substance use among young people in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria

The aim of this study was to assess the pattern and compare the rates of substance use in parents of children with substance use disorders in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Between January 2009 and December 2011, a total of 528 participants, comprising 255 fathers of children with substance use-related problems (study group) and 273 fathers of children without problems (comparison group) attending the Psychiatric Unit of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, were assessed, using a modified form of a 117-item self-report instrument based on the World Health Organization’s guidelines for students’ substance use surveys. The demographic characteristics of the respondents were similar. Locally available substances including alcohol were used more frequently than illicit substances by both groups. Possible reasons for using these substances included ready availability, unidentified personal problems, performance enhancement and unemployment. Substance use ison the increase in our environment and this may be attributable to environmental pressures and weak parental discipline.Key Words: Parental influence, children, substance use, Niger Delta regio

Motorcycle Road Traffic Injuries in Southern Nigeria: The Small Motorcycle as a Prevention Strategy

Background: The commonest mode of public transportation in Uyo is by motorcycle. There are two sizes of motorcycle in common use – the big one (Qlink or Skygo model, made in China) and the small one (C90, made in China). The study was carried out to determine if there is a lower risk of RTI severe enough to be brought to the hospital, attributable to using a small motorcycle.Methods: Motorcycle RTI victims admitted at the Accident and Emergency department of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), were reviewed prospectively over a 15 month period. Three community visual surveys of the proportion of small to large motorcycles were also conducted.Results: A total of 131 RTI victims were reviewed over 15 months. The visual surveys of motorcycles in Uyo revealed that the mean proportion of small to large is 38 to 62, a ratio of 1:1.6. Eighty-three (63.3%) of the 131 RTI’s involved motorcycles. 74 of these occurred in large motorcycles. There was a statistically significant relationship between motorcycle size and occurrence of an RTI severe enough to be brought to hospital.Conclusion: There is a lower risk of RTI severe enough to be brought to hospital, from using a small motorcycle

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in Nigeria in 1995 and 2020: A systematic analysis of current evidence

Improved understanding of the current burden of hypertension, including awareness, treatment, and control, is needed to guide relevant preventative measures in Nigeria. A systematic search of studies on the epidemiology of hypertension in Nigeria, published on or after January 1990, was conducted. The authors employed randomeffects meta-analysis on extracted crude hypertension prevalence, and awareness, treatment, and control rates. Using a meta-regression model, overall hypertension cases in Nigeria in 1995 and 2020 were estimated. Fifty-three studies (n = 78 949) met our selection criteria. Estimated crude prevalence of pre-hypertension (120-139/80-89 mmHg) in Nigeria was 30.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 22.0%-39.7%), and the crude prevalence of hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg) was 30.6% (95% CI: 27.3%-34.0%). When adjusted for age, study period, and sample, absolute cases of hypertension increased by 540% among individuals aged ≥20 years from approximately 4.3 million individuals in 1995 (age-adjusted prevalence 8.6%, 95% CI: 6.5-10.7) to 27.5 million individuals with hypertension in 2020 (age-adjusted prevalence 32.5%, 95% CI: 29.8-35.3). The age-adjusted prevalence was only significantly higher among men in 1995, with the gap between both sexes considerably narrowed in 2020. Only 29.0% of cases (95% CI: 19.7-38.3) were aware of their hypertension, 12.0% (95% CI: 2.7-21.2) were on treatment, and 2.8% (95% CI: 0.1-5.7) had at-goal blood pressure in 2020. Our study suggests that hypertension prevalence has substantially increased in Nigeria over the last two decades. Although more persons are aware of their hypertension status, clinical treatment and control rates, however, remain low. These estimates are relevant for clinical care, population, and policy response in Nigeria and across Africa

Estimating the burden of selected non-communicable diseases in Africa: a systematic review of the evidence

Background The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rapidly increasing globally, and particularly in Africa, where the health focus, until recently, has been on infectious diseases. The response to this growing burden of NCDs in Africa has been affected owing to a poor understanding of the burden of NCDs, and the relative lack of data and low level of research on NCDs in the continent. Recent estimates on the burden of NCDs in Africa have been mostly derived from modelling based on data from other countries imputed into African countries, and not usually based on data originating from Africa itself. In instances where few data were available, estimates have been characterized by extrapolation and over-modelling of the scarce data. It is therefore believed that underestimation of NCDs burden in many parts of Africa cannot be unexpected. With a gradual increase in average life expectancy across Africa, the region now experiencing the fastest rate of urbanization globally, and an increase adoption of unhealthy lifestyles, the burden of NCDs is expected to rise. This thesis will, therefore, be focussing on understanding the prevalence, and/or where there are available data, the incidence, of four major NCDs in Africa, which have contributed highly to the burden of NCDs, not only in Africa, but also globally. Methods I conducted a systematic search of the literature on three main databases (Medline, EMBASE and Global Health) for epidemiological studies on NCDs conducted in Africa. I retained and extracted data from original population-based (cohort or cross sectional), and/or health service records (hospital or registry-based studies) on prevalence and/or incidence rates of four major NCDs in Africa. These include: cardiovascular diseases (hypertension and stroke), diabetes, major cancer types (cervical, breast, prostate, ovary, oesophagus, bladder, Kaposi, liver, stomach, colorectal, lung and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), and chronic respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma). From extracted crude prevalence and incidence rates, a random effect meta-analysis was conducted and reported for each NCD. An epidemiological model was applied on all extracted data points. The fitted curve explaining the largest proportion of variance (best fit) from the model was further applied. The equation generated from the fitted curve was used to determine the prevalence and cases of the specific NCD in Africa at midpoints of the United Nations (UN) population 5-year age-group population estimates for Africa. Results From the literature search, studies on hypertension had the highest publication output at 7680, 92 of which were selected, spreading across 31 African countries. Cancer had 9762 publications and 39 were selected across 20 countries; diabetes had 3701 publications and 48 were selected across 28 countries; stroke had 1227 publications and 19 were selected across 10 countries; asthma had 790 publications and 45 were selected across 24 countries; and COPD had the lowest output with 243 publications and 13 were selected across 8 countries. From studies reporting prevalence rates, hypertension, with a total sample size of 197734, accounted for 130.2 million cases and a prevalence of 25.9% (23.5, 34.0) in Africa in 2010. This is followed by asthma, with a sample size of 187904, accounting for 58.2 million cases and a prevalence of 6.6% (2.4, 7.9); COPD, with a sample size of 24747, accounting for 26.3 million cases and a prevalence of 13.4% (9.4, 22.1); diabetes, with a sample size of 102517, accounting for 24.5 million cases and a prevalence of 4.0% (2.7, 6.4); and stroke, with a sample size of about 6.3 million, accounting for 1.94 million cases and a prevalence of 317.3 per 100000 population (314.0, 748.2). From studies reporting incidence rates, stroke accounted for 496 thousand new cases in Africa in 2010, with a prevalence of 81.3 per 100000 person years (13.2, 94.9). For the 12 cancer types reviewed, a total of 775 thousand new cases were estimated in Africa in 2010 from registry-based data covering a total population of about 33 million. Among women, cervical cancer and breast cancer had 129 thousand and 81 thousand new cases, with incidence rates of 28.2 (22.1, 34.3) and 17.7 (13.0, 22.4) per 100000 person years, respectively. Among men, prostate cancer and Kaposi sarcoma closely follows with 75 thousand and 74 thousand new cases, with incidence rates of 14.5 (10.9, 18.0) and 14.3 (11.9, 16.7) per 100000 person years, respectively. Conclusion This study suggests the prevalence rates of the four major NCDs reviewed (cardiovascular diseases (hypertension and stroke), diabetes, major cancer types, and chronic respiratory diseases (COPD and asthma) in Africa are high relative to global estimates. Due to the lack of data on many NCDs across the continent, there are still doubts on the true prevalence of these diseases relative to the current African population. There is need for improvement in health information system and overall data management, especially at country level in Africa. Governments of African nations, international organizations, experts and other stakeholders need to invest more on NCDs research, particularly mortality, risk factors, and health determinants to have evidenced-based facts on the drivers of this epidemic in the continent, and prompt better, effective and overall public health response to NCDs in Africa

High blood pressure in a semi-urban community in south-south Nigeria: a community - based study

Background: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) are taking their toll in most low and middle income countries; incidentally, in the same populations that are struggling to deal with communicable diseases, hence presenting a picture of “double tragedy”. Most of the researches conducted on NCDs are facility-based; often in urban locations. Objective: To determine the prevalence of high BP in a semi-urban community in Nigeria. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study, where all the adult residents of the community were enrolled. Data was collected using a multi-section questionnaire, including anthropometric measurements. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS 17.0 for windows and STATA 10. Results: The results showed that 47.0% of the study population had a raised BP >140/90mmHg. At a univariate level, age, sex, higher income, more people in the household, daily cigarette smoking, daily alcohol intake and BMI, showed increased risk for high BP. However, sleeping for at least 8 hours a day showed protective influence against raised BP among the participants. In the adjusted model, only age, sex and BMI remained statistically significant with Odds Ratio (OR) of 1.04 (95%CI; 1.00, 1.08), 0.45 (95%CI; 0.22, 0.90) and 1.08(95%CI; 1.03, 1.13) respectively. The model had an area under curve of 71.9%, Conclusion: It was concluded that there is a high prevalence of raised BP in this semi-urban community, thus the need for intervention and preventive services to curb the looming epidemic of hypertension in this community in particular, and Nigeria as a whole, cannot be overemphasized.Keywords: High BP, BMI, prevalence