Prevalence of obesity among health workers in Kadjebi District of Ghana

Overweight and obesity are excess body adiposity which is unhealthy. Globally, 35% of the adult population, 20 years and older, were overweight and 11% were obese in 2008 accounting for more than 1.4 billion adults with overweight. Healthcare workers are susceptible to being overweight because of the stress levels they experience at work and also the irregular hours during which they work. We determine the prevalence of obesity among health care workers in the district, by conducting a cross-sectional study in March 2013 in all the health facilities in Kadjebi District. The study subjects were all the health workers in health facilities in the district. About 158 health care workers (HCWs) participated in the study. Majority of the study participants 64.6% were from Mary Theresa Hospital. Most of the HCWs, 53.8% were females. The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity among the HCWs was 38.0% according to their BMI. The prevalence of overweight/obesity among females was 42.4% and 32.9% in males. Males were more physically active than their female colleagues. The prevalence of obesity among health care workers was higher than in the general population. However, additional studies with representative sample is needed. HCWs like any other person need information to control their body weight and maintain reasonable physical activity. Key words: Ghana, Obesity, Overweight, Body Mass Index, Waist-Hip Ratio, Waist Circumference

Retrospective Cohort Study of Antenatal Care and Pregnancy Outcomes in Kadjebi District of Ghana

Antenatal care is essential strategy for improving maternal and pregnancy outcome. We determined the association between antenatal attendance and pregnancy outcome using low birth weight and preterm birth. We conducted retrospective cohort study using data from antenatal and delivery records of all the maternity units in Kadjebi District from October 2012 to January 2013. The study subjects were a cohort of women who delivered in maternity units in the district from 1st January to 31st December 2011.The study participants were 663 pregnant women with mean age of 25.8 years, ranging between 15-45 years. Most of the women, 53.9% were between 20-29 years and 16.2% were teenagers. The mean parity of the women was 2.1. Almost all the pregnant women, 99.2% had at least one antenatal care but only 48.2% of them made the optimum antenatal visits recommended by WHO. About 55.5% of the deliveries were preterm. Pregnant women with height <145cm were most likely to have good antenatal attendance (LR, OR:  0.65, CI: 0.45-0.95, P= 0.0246). Preterm delivery was more among Sickling positive pregnant women (LR, OR: 4.37, CI: 1.55-12.33, P: 0.0052). Low birth weight was most common among the unemployed (OR: 5.17, CI: 1.72-15.60, P: 0.0035). Early antenatal registration was protective against low birth weight (OR: 0.27, CI: 0.07-0.95, P: 0.0415). Analysis of data collected in the antenatal and delivery registers can yield valuable information for public health action. Antenatal attendance was almost universal however, optimum antennal visits was undesirably lower than expected. Early registration for antenatal care would reduce low birth weight and improve pregnancy outcome. Keywords: Ghana, Antenatal care, Prenatal care, Retrospect cohort study, pregnancy outcom