Beliefs about hypertension among Nigerian immigrants to the United Kingdom: A qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to elicit beliefs about hypertension among Nigerian immigrants in the United Kingdom. BACKGROUND: The distributions of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases are not shared equally across ethnic and economic groups in the United Kingdom. Its burden is more clustered among minority ethnic populations and migrant groups including black African Nigerian migrants. Similar patterns have been reported across Europe, Australia, Canada, Nordic countries and the United States of America. There are about 300 distinct ethnic groups in Nigeria and reliable information about their beliefs about hypertension is not available. Given that the United Kingdom has a large community of Nigerian immigrants from these different ethno-cultural backgrounds, understanding their unique beliefs about hypertension may help promote appropriate care for this population in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. SETTING: A single Pentecostal church community in West London PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-seven Nigerian migrant members of the church entered and completed the study METHODS AND OUTCOME MEASURE: A qualitative interview study was conducted. The interviews were analysed using thematic framework analysis. The outcome measures were emerging themes from the thematic framework analysis. RESULTS: Participants expressed beliefs in four major areas related to hypertension: (1) The Meaning of the term hypertension, (2) Perceptions of causation, (3) Effects of hypertension, and (4) Perceptions of treatment. The study revealed a diversity of beliefs about hypertension which incorporated both orthodox and culturally framed ideas. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified important beliefs among Nigerian migrants about hypertension that can contribute to our understanding of the management of hypertension in this group and suggests the need for further research to determine whether these beliefs may be representative of this group

Impact of dietary patterns, individual and workplace characteristics on blood pressure status among civil servants in Bida and Wushishi communities of Niger State, Nigeria

The global burden estimate of hypertension is alarming and results in several million deaths annually. A high incidence of sudden deaths from cardiovascular diseases in the civil workforce in Nigeria is often reported. However, the associations between Dietary Patterns (DPs), individual, and workplace characteristics of hypertension among this workforce have not been fully explored. This study aimed to identify DP in the Bida and Wushishi Communities of Niger State and establish its relationship with hypertension along with other individual and workplace characteristics. Factor analysis was used to establish DP, Chi-square test to identify their relationships with hypertension, and logistic regression to determine the predictor risk factors. The prevalence of hypertension was 43.7%; mean weight, height, and body fat were: 72.8±15 kg, 166±8.9 mm and 30.4%, respectively. Three DPs: “Efficient Diet,” “Local diet,” and “Energy Boost Diet” were identified. The factor loading scores for these factors were divided into quintiles Q1–Q5; none of them had a significant effect on hypertension status. Conversely, increase in age, the Ministry, Department, and Agency (MDA) of employment, frequency of eating in restaurants, and obesity were identified as significant risk factors. After adjusting for confounders (age, body mass index, MDA, and eating habits), a high score (Q5) in “efficient diet pattern” was significantly related to a lower likelihood of hypertension than a low score (Q1). The prevalence of hypertension among the participants was relatively very high. An increase in age and working in educational sector were risk factors associated with hypertension. Therefore, it is recommended that civil servants engage in frequent exercise and undergo regular medical checkups, especially as they get older. These findings highlight the need for large-scale assessment of the impact of variables considered in this study on hypertension, among the civil workforce across Niger state and Nigeria

Effects of short-term administration of quinine on the seminiferous tubules of Sprague-Dawley Rats

Quinine (QU) is the principal alkaloid derived from the bark of the Cinchona tree and has been used worldwide in the suppression and treatment of malaria for more than 350 years. Though other anti-malaria drugs have superseded QU, however, as a result of the development of resistance to chloroquine and other drugs, QU has again become an important anti-malaria agent. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of short term administration of QU on the seminiferous tubules of rats. Thirty six adult (6-8 weeks old) male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 160 and 180g (at the beginning of the study) were used for the experiments. The animals were randomly divided into 3 groups of 12 rats each. Groups 1 and 2 animals had QU, 30 mg/kg body weight (kbw) daily for 7 days. While those in group 1 were sacrificed on the 7th day those in group 2 were sacrificed on the 56th day. The group 3 animals constituted the controls. They had equal volume of physiologic saline for 7 days and half of them were sacrificed on the 7th day while the other half were sacrificed on the 56th day. The testes were carefully dissected out, their volumes measured, weighed and histological sections prepared. Morphometry was carried out by assessing the diameter, cross-sectional area, number of profiles per unit area, numerical density and volume density of the seminiferous tubules, and the relative and absolute volume of the seminiferous epithelium, stroma and lumen of the tubules. The results showed that there was a general destruction coupled with degeneration of cells of the seminiferous epithelium secondary to short term administration of QU. We concluded that QU has a deleterious effect on the testis and may possibly disrupt spermatogenesis. KEYWORDS: Quinine, testis, seminiferous tubules Nig. Jnl Health & Biomed. Sciences Vol.3(1) 2004: 1-