DENTAL SURVEY IN NIGERIAPART I. PREVALENCE OF DENTAL CARIES IN NIGERIA

A joint dental epidemiological survey was carried out in 1981 in the ancient city of Ile-Ife and its environs in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The survey was made with the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Oyo State, Nigeria, as the base. The occurrence of caries in 898 Nigerian school children of 509 urban and 389 rural children was compared with the occurrence of caries in the Japanese children. The results showed that the incidence of caries in the Nigerian school children was much lower than that of their Japanese counterpart. However, it is projected that with the increase in the consumption of sweet drinks and food in Nigeria, if superimposed on the existing poor oral hygiene, the incidence of caries will increase greatly

DENTAL SURVEY IN NIGERIA PART 2 BITING FORCE OF NIGERIAN

The biting force of 855 Nigerian children and adults from the age of 3 to 60 was recorded m the Joint Dental Epidemiological Survey in Nigeria in 1981. The biting force of the Nigerian rural group (245 males and 178 females) was significantly greater than those of the Nigerian urban group (227 males and 203 females) and the Japanese males and females

Oral Iron Absorption of Ferric Citrate Hydrate and Hepcidin-25 in Hemodialysis Patients: A Prospective, Multicenter, Observational Riona-Oral Iron Absorption Trial

Oral ferric citrate hydrate (FCH) is effective for iron deficiencies in hemodialysis patients; however, how iron balance in the body affects iron absorption in the intestinal tract remains unclear. This prospective observational study (Riona-Oral Iron Absorption Trial, R-OIAT, UMIN 000031406) was conducted at 42 hemodialysis centers in Japan, wherein 268 hemodialysis patients without inflammation were enrolled and treated with a fixed amount of FCH for 6 months. We assessed the predictive value of hepcidin-25 for iron absorption and iron shift between ferritin (FTN) and red blood cells (RBCs) following FCH therapy. Serum iron changes at 2 h (ΔFe2h) after FCH ingestion were evaluated as iron absorption. The primary outcome was the quantitative delineation of iron variables with respect to ΔFe2h, and the secondary outcome was the description of the predictors of the body’s iron balance. Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to identify the determinants of iron absorption during each phase of FCH treatment. ΔFe2h increased when hepcidin-25 and TSAT decreased (−0.459, −0.643 to −0.276, p = 0.000; −0.648, −1.099 to −0.197, p = 0.005, respectively) in GEEs. FTN increased when RBCs decreased (−1.392, −1.749 to −1.035, p = 0.000) and hepcidin-25 increased (0.297, 0.239 to 0.355, p = 0.000). Limiting erythropoiesis to maintain hemoglobin levels induces RBC reduction in hemodialysis patients, resulting in increased hepcidin-25 and FTN levels. Hepcidin-25 production may prompt an iron shift from RBC iron to FTN iron, inhibiting iron absorption even with continued FCH intake