Risk models and scores for metabolic syndrome: systematic review protocol

Introduction Metabolic syndrome ‘a clustering of risk factors which includes hypertension central obesity, impaired glucose metabolism with insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia’ affects approximately 20%–25% of the global adult population. Individuals with metabolic syndrome have two to threefold risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a fivefold risk of developing developing diabetes and death from all causes. Although there is rapid proliferation of risk scores for predicting the risk of developing metabolic syndrome later in life, yet, these are seldom used in the practice. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to determine the performance of risk models and scores for predicting the metabolic syndrome. Methods and analysis Articles will be sought for from electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed and Web of Science) as well as the Cochrane Library. Further manual search of reference lists and grey literatures will be conducted. The search will cover from the start of indexing to 3 October 2018. Identified studies will be included if they fulfil the study selection criteria. Quality of studies will be appraised using suitable criteria for the risk models. The risk scores in the final sample of the review will be ranked/prioritised based on previous quality criteria for prognostic risk models. Lastly, the impact of the models will be ascertained by tracking citations on Google Scholar. Ethics and dissemination This study does not require formal ethical approval as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and relevant conference presentations

The constitutional roles of local governments in Nigeria: issues and challenges

The paper focuses on the constitutional roles of local governments in Nigeria: issues and challenges.The creation of local governments in Nigeria is meant to support the locals on their budding future in a platform purposely created for representation in the political administration of a State and the Federal Government.The aim of the paper is to discuss the roles of local governments as provided by the 1999 Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended 2011. In addition, to examine the laws of the local governments and further analyses the loopholes in the legal relations between the Local Governments in Nigeria and the States.The methodology adopted by the paper is content analysis approach wherein related literatures were discussed and analysed, particularly the local laws and other relevant documents.The findings of the paper reveal that firm control of local governments by the States especially through the Joint Accounts negates the developmental purposes of local government’s creation in Nigeria. In view of this, therefore, the paper suggests that for the realisation of the ultimate purpose of creation and maintaining the system, the silent constitutional lacuna of local government’s autonomy and other related issues highlighted in the paper should be address

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers of childbearing age

BackgroundThe American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for up to 6 months. Despite the importance of breast milk, EBF is far less prevalent in Nigeria than is recommended for developing countries. Worse still, the odds of EBF practice are very low in rural communities. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of EBF as well as identify the factors associated with EBF practice among mothers of childbearing age in Chamo town, Jigawa State, Nigeria.MethodsThe study is a cross-sectional design using a questionnaire to assess the required information. The methodology involved the use of simple random sampling to select mothers of reproductive age from Chamo town, which is a rural community located in Jigawa State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess the mother’s knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding EBF. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with the practice of EBF.ResultsA total of 400 mothers between the ages of 18 and 41 took part in the study. More than half of the participants (57.8%) were between the ages of 26 and 33 and had a primary level of education (30.5%). Only 26.8% of the respondents practice EBF. Those with a tertiary education (AOR = 10.00, p < 0.001), civil servants (AOR = 12.51, p < 0.001), those aware of EBF (AOR = 3.65, p = 0.002), those with correct EBF knowledge (AOR = 4.61, p < 0.001), those with a positive attitude toward EBF demand (AOR = 0.51, p = 0.050), and those who received encouragement from their community (AOR = 9.87, p < 0.001) were more likely to practice EBF.ConclusionThe findings of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of EBF were minimal. This shows the need to step up efforts to educate mothers about the advantages of EBF for both their own health and that of their children while they are in the hospital recovering from childbirth

Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of Nigerian students toward organ donation

The Nigerian transplantation program is evolving but is currently over-reliant on living donors. If deceased donation is to be viable in Nigeria, it is important to ascertain the views of the public. The objective of the study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of Nigerian international students toward organ donation. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Nigerian international students of the University of Bedfordshire through the use of a modified self-administered questionnaire. The participants were recruited by means of purposive sampling. Of the 110 questionnaires distributed, 103 were returned fully completed (response rate = 93.6%). A significant majority (93.2%) of the participants are aware of organ donation, and 76.7% have a good knowledge on the subject. Furthermore, more than half (52.8%) of the participants have a positive attitude toward organ donation, and less than half (42.8%) have favorable behavior toward it. Higher knowledge does not correlate to either positive attitude or behavior, but a positive attitude is correlated with favorable behavior toward donation. The attitudes and behavior of the respondents toward organ donation is not commensurate with the level of knowledge they possess. This highlights the urgent need for well-structured educational programs on deceased organ donation. BACKGROUND METHODS RESULTS CONCLUSION