Uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbidities in sub-Saharan Africa : protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Uncontrolled hypertension is the most important risk factor and leading cause of cardiovascular diseases. It is predicted that the number of people with hypertension will increase, and a large proportion of this increase will occur in developing countries. The highest prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension is reported in sub-Saharan Africa, and treatment for hypertension is unacceptably low. Hypertension commonly co-exists with comorbidities and this is associated with poorer health outcomes for patients. This review aims to estimate the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbidities in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods and analysis All published and unpublished studies on the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbidities in sub-Saharan Africa will be included. MEDLINE via OVID, Embase, and Web of Science will be searched to identify all relevant articles published from January 2000 to June 2019. Experts in the field will be contacted for unpublished literature, and Open SIGLE will be reviewed for relevant information. No language restriction will be imposed. Two reviewers will select, screen, extract data, and assess the risk of bias while a third reviewer will arbitrate the disagreements. A meta-analysis will be performed on variables that are similar across the included studies. Proportions will be stabilized before estimates are pooled using a random effects model. The presence of publication bias will be assessed using Egger’s test and visual inspection of the funnel plots. This systematic and meta-analysis review protocol will be reported in accordance with the PRISMA-P protocol guidelines. Results will be stratified by country, comorbidity, and geographic region

Intimate partner violence against adolescents and young women in sub-Saharan Africa: who is most vulnerable?

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health and human rights issue that affects millions of women and girls. While disaggregated national statistics are crucial to assess inequalities, little evidence exists on inequalities in exposure to violence against adolescents and young women (AYW). The aim of this study was to deter- mine inequalities in physical or sexual IPV against AYW and beliefs about gender based violence (GBV) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: We used data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 27 countries in SSA. Only data from surveys conducted after 2010 were included. Our analysis focused on married or cohabiting AYW aged 15–24 years and compared inequalities in physical or sexual IPV by place of residence, education and wealth. We also examined IPV variations by AYW’s beliefs about GBV and the association of country characteristics such as gender inequality with IPV prevalence. Results: The proportion of AYW reporting IPV in the year before the survey ranged from 6.5% in Comoros to 43.3% in Gabon, with a median of 25.2%. Overall, reported IPV levels were higher in countries in the Central Africa region than other sub-regions. Although the prevalence of IPV varied by place of residence, education and wealth, there was no clear pattern of inequalities. In many countries with high prevalence of IPV, a higher proportion of AYW from rural areas, with lower education and from the poorest wealth quintile reported IPV. In almost all countries, a greater pro- portion of AYW who approved wife beating for any reason reported IPV compared to their counterparts who disap- proved wife beating. Reporting of IPV was weakly correlated with the Gender Inequality Index and other societal level variables but was moderately positively correlated with adult alcohol consumption (r = 0.48) and negative attitudes towards GBV (r = 0.38). Conclusion: IPV is pervasive among AYW, with substantial variation across and within countries reflecting the role of contextual and structural factors in shaping the vulnerability to IPV. The lack of consistent patterns of inequalities by the stratifiers within countries shows that IPV against women and girls cuts across socio-economic boundaries sug- gesting the need for comprehensive and multi-sectoral approaches to preventing and responding to IPV

Prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension in people with comorbidities in sub-Saharan Africa : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The burden of uncontrolled hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is high and hypertension is known to coexist with other chronic diseases such as kidney disease, diabetes among others. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the burden of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbidities in SSA. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted on MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase) and Web of Science to identify all relevant articles published between 1 January 2000 and 17 June 2021. We included studies that reported on the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among people in SSA who report taking antihypertensive treatment and have another chronic condition. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to obtain the pooled estimate of the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbid conditions while on treatment across studies in SSA. Results: In all, 20 articles were included for meta-analyses. Eleven articles were among diabetic patients, five articles were among patients with HIV, two were among patients with stroke while chronic kidney disease and atrial fibrillation had one article each. The pooled prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among patients with comorbidities was 78.6% (95% CI 71.1% to 85.3%); I² 95.9%, varying from 73.1% in patients with stroke to 100.0% in patients with atrial fibrillation. Subgroup analysis showed differences in uncontrolled hypertension prevalence by various study-level characteristics Conclusion: This study suggests a high burden of uncontrolled hypertension in people with comorbidities in SSA. Strategies to improve the control of hypertension among people with comorbidities are needed. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019108218

Patterns and determinants of breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in urban informal settlements, Nairobi Kenya

BackgroundThe World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life for optimal growth, development and health. Breastfeeding should continue up to two years or more and nutritionally adequate, safe, and appropriately-fed complementary foods should be introduced at the age of six months to meet the evolving needs of the growing infant. Little evidence exists on breastfeeding and infant feeding practices in urban slums in sub-Saharan Africa. Our aim was to assess breastfeeding and infant feeding practices in Nairobi slums with reference to WHO recommendations. MethodsData from a longitudinal study conducted in two Nairobi slums are used. The study used information on the first year of life of 4299 children born between September 2006 and January 2010. All women who gave birth during this period were interviewed on breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices at recruitment and this information was updated twice, at four-monthly intervals. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to determine factors associated with cessation of breastfeeding in infancy and early introduction of complementary foods. ResultsThere was universal breastfeeding with almost all children (99%) having ever been breastfed. However, more than a third (37%) were not breastfed in the first hour following delivery, and 40% were given something to drink other than the mothers' breast milk within 3 days after delivery. About 85% of infants were still breastfeeding by the end of the 11th month. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months was rare as only about 2% of infants were exclusively breastfed for six months. Factors associated with sub-optimal infant breastfeeding and feeding practices in these settings include child's sex; perceived size at birth; mother's marital status, ethnicity; education level; family planning (pregnancy desirability); health seeking behaviour (place of delivery) and; neighbourhood (slum of residence). ConclusionsThe study indicates poor adherence to WHO recommendations for breastfeeding and infant feeding practices. Interventions and further research should pay attention to factors such as cultural practices, access to and utilization of health care facilities, child feeding education, and family planning. <br/

Patterns of non-communicable disease and injury risk factors in Kenyan adult population: a cluster analysis

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases and unintentional injuries are emerging public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. These threats have multiple risk factors with complex interactions. Though some studies have explored the magnitude and distribution of those risk factors in many populations in Kenya, an exploration of segmentation of population at a national level by risk profile, which is crucial for a differentiated approach, is currently lacking. The aim of this study was to examine patterns of non-communicable disease and injury risk through the identification of clusters and investigation of correlates of those clusters among Kenyan adult population. METHODS: We used data from the 2015 STEPs survey of non-communicable disease risk factors conducted among 4484 adults aged between 18 and 69 years in Kenya. A total of 12 risk factors for NCDs and 9 factors for injury were used as clustering variables. A K-medians Cluster Analysis was applied. We used matching as the measure of the similarity/dissimilarity among the clustering variables. While clusters were described using the risk factors, the predictors of the clustering were investigated using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: We have identified five clusters for NCDs and four clusters for injury based on the risk profile of the population. The NCD risk clusters were labelled as cluster hypertensives, harmful users, the hopefuls, the obese, and the fat lovers. The injury risk clusters were labelled as helmet users, jaywalkers, the defiant and the compliant. Among the possible predictors of clustering, age, gender, education and wealth index came out as strong predictors of the cluster variables. CONCLUSION: This cluster analysis has identified important clusters of adult Kenyan population for non-communicable disease and injury risk profiles. Risk reduction interventions could consider these clusters as potential target in the development and segmentation of a differentiated approach

Comparative performance of pooled cohort equations and Framingham risk scores in cardiovascular disease risk classification in a slum setting in Nairobi Kenya

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) cause 18 million deaths annually. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) account for 80% of the CVD burden, and the burden is expected to grow in the region in the coming years. Screening for and identification of individuals at high risk for CVD in primary care settings can be accomplished using available CVD risk scores. However, few of these scores have been validated/recalibrated for use in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: Pooled cohort equations (PCE) and Framingham risk scores for 10-year CVD risk were applied on 1960 men and women aged 40 years and older from the AWI-Gen (Africa, Wits-INDEPTH Partnership for GENomic studies) study 2015. Low, moderate/intermediate or high CVD risk classifications correspond to 20% chance of developing CVD in 10 years respectively. Agreement between the risk scores was assessed using kappa and correlation coefficients. Results: High CVD risk was 10.3% in PCE 2013, 0.4% in PCE 2018, 2.9% in Framingham and 3.6% in Framingham non-laboratory scores. Conversely, low CVD risk was 62.2% in PCE 2013 and 95.6% in PCE 2018, 84.0% and 80.1% in Framingham and Framingham non-laboratory scores, respectively. A moderate agreement existed between the Framingham functions (kappa = 0.64, 95% CI 0.59–0.68, correlation, rs = 0.711). There was no agreement between the PCE 2013 and 2018 functions (kappa = 0.05, 95% CI 0.04–0.06). Conclusions: Newer cohort-based data is necessary to validate and recalibrate existing CVD risk scores in order to develop appropriate functions for use in SSA