2 research outputs found
Geophagy as risk behaviour for gastrointestinal nematode infections among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in a humid tropical zone of Nigeria.
Background: Geophagy is wide spread among pregnant women in Ebonyi
State, Nigeria. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess
intestinal nematode infections among geophagous pregnant women in
Southern Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Methods: Pregnant women were aged 17-45
years at gestational ages of 65 14 to 24 weeks on hospital
enrolment were sampled. Data on geophagy was collected using structured
questionnaire. Gastrointestinal nematode status of the participants was
determined by stool analyses. Soil types ingested were examined for
intestinal nematode ova / larvae. Results: The prevalence of geophagy
(46.4%) was associated with socio-demographic characteristics. Ascaris
lumbricoides and hookworm were associated with geophagy while Trichuris
trichiura and Strongyloides stercoralis had no association.
Prevalence of A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and S. stercoralis differed
significantly (p<0.05) between geophagous and non-geophagous women.
The soil types consumed had eggs / larvae of A. lumbricoides and T.
trichiura. Geophagy is a risk behaviour directly associated with A.
lumbricoides, hookworm, T. trichiura, and to a lesser extent S.
stercoralis infection among pregnant women. Conclusion: Sensitization
and mass education of pregnant women on the dangers of geophagy is
needed. Furthermore, deworming of pregnant women should be integrated
into the healthcare delivery system of the State
Obesity and associated factors in young adults attending tertiary institutions in south-eastern Nigeria
Objective: To assess prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated factors in a group of university undergraduates in south-east Nigeria.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Five tertiary institutions in south-east Nigeria.Methods: A total of 1610 undergraduates were selected using multistage sampling. A validated questionnaire on sociodemographic, dietary and lifestyle factors was used. Variables studied included body mass index (BMI), waist:hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure (BP). Descriptive statistics and Chi square test were used for data analyses.Results: Prevalence of obesity and overweight were 6.5% [4.2% males; 8.4% females (p < 0.05)] and 13.4% [8.4% males; 17.7% females (p < 0.05)], respectively. A higher prevalence of central obesity and abdominal obesity was found in the females (15.7% and 27.2%, respectively) compared to the males (1.1% and 2.4%, respectively) (p < 0.05). Consumption of unhealthy snack foods (X2 = 13.39), being a female (X2 = 47.91), first year student (X2 = 41.82), and having high systolic (X2 = 88.18) and diastolic (X2 = 10.17) BP were associated with obesity (p < 0.05).Conclusions: Prevalence of obesity was high in the studied population and, if left unchecked, portends deleterious consequences, especially with respect to the development of cardiovascular diseases.Keywords: association, obesity, overweight, socio-demographic factors, young adult