Family characteristics and childhood predictors of overweight and obesity in adults attending general outpatient clinic, Ibadan

Background: The World Health Organization has reported that there is an increasing rate of overweight and obesity and this has reached an epidemic proportion. Parental influence during childhood and family routine characteristics are been proposed as contributing factors for overweight and obesity. Objective: The study therefore sought to determine the relationship between familycharacteristics, childhood predictors and overweight/obesity.Methodology: This was a case-control study amongst adult patients aged 18 -60 years. Cases were respondents with Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 ; they were age and sex matched with controls (BMI 18.5 < 25 kg/m2 ), in ratio 1:1 (N=342). Interviewer administered questionnaires were applied to consenting patients to gather information on socio-demography, parental influence during childhood, family routine characteristics. The pattern of family meals was assessed with the Family Ritual Questionnaire dinnertime scale. Data was analysed with SPSS version 22. McNemar Chi-square and logistic regression were used to draw inferences at p<0.05 level of significance. Result: The mean BMI of the case and control groups was 30.08(±4.25) kg/m2 and 21.74(±2.35) kg/m respectively. Amongst thecases, 102 (59.6%) were overweight while 69(40.4%) were obese. There was no significant difference in the socio-demographicprofiles of the groups. Having a self-reported history of childhood/adolescent obesity, family history of obesity, desire for large bodysize and having a poor family mealtime routine were statistically associated with overweight and obesity with p-value < 0.05.Respondents with history of obesity in childhood/adolescent and family history of obesity were 3.6 and 3 times respectively morelikely to be overweight or obesity than if there was no such history.Conclusion: Childhood/adolescent obesity and family history of obesity are predictors of obesity. Involving the family as a unit inweight loss control may be beneficial for both the identified patient and his/her (immediate) family members who are at increased riskof becoming overweight and obese themselves. Keywords: Family characteristics, Childhood Predictors, Overweight and Obesit

Orofacial cancers: pattern and management in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background: Orofacial cancers remain a significant health burden globally, especially in the developing countries where the incidence is higher and appears to be increasing. This study aims to document the pattern, management and survivorship of patients with orofacial cancers as seen at a tertiary healthcare facilityin Nigeria.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients who presented at our centre with orofacial cancers in the period between January 2010 and December. Patients' demographics, location of lesion, histopathological diagnosis, treatment given and follow-up events were extracted from the records. Patient with insufficient data for analysis were excluded. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 21.Results: 21,090 patients were seen during the study period and 228 of the 1,029 biopsies done were malignant. The study included 213 patients (121 males and 92 females. mean age 48.2 years) with orofacial cancers. The commonest sites were the jaws (48.8%), palate (13.1%) and the tongue (7.5%).Carcinomas constituted 71.8% and were the commonest malignancies. All patients presented in stages III (34.6%) or IV (65.4%). 39.4% of patients  had no treatment instituted and surgery alone (21.9%) was the commonest treatment provided. The mean interval between treatment and recurrence was 3.0 months while mean expiration period was 13.5 months.Conclusion: Treatment conferred a higher probability of survival. Patients treated with surgery (and radiotherapy/chemotherapy) survived better than those treated non-aggressively. In general, about a third (30.8%) of orofacial cancer patients were alive at 5 years post presentation and about 50% of these survivors were living with the disease.Keywords: Orofacial cancer; outcome; survival; Nigeri