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

Incidence, clinical characteristics, and risk factors of peripartum cardiomyopathy in Nigeria : results from the PEACE Registry

Aims: The aim of this study was to describe the incidence, clinical characteristics and risk factors of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) in Nigeria. Methods and Results: The study was conducted in 22 hospitals in Nigeria, and PPCM patients were consecutively recruited between June 2017 and March 2018. To determine factors associated with PPCM, the patients were compared with apparently healthy women who recently delivered, as controls. Four hundred six patients were compared with 99 controls. The incidence and disease burden (based on the rate of consecutive recruitment of subjects) varied widely between the six geographical zones of Nigeria. From the North-West zone, 72.3% of the patients was recruited, where an incidence as high as 1 per 96 live births was obtained in a centre, while the disease was uncommon (7.6% of all recruited patients) in the South. Majority of the patients (76.6%) and controls (74.8%) (p = 0.694) were of Hausa-Fulani ethnic group. Atrial fibrillation, intracardiac thrombus, stroke, and right ventricular systolic dysfunction were found in 1.7%, 6.4%, 2.2%, and 54.9% of the patients, respectively. Lack of formal education (odds ratio [OR] 3.08, 95% confidence interval [1.71, 5.53]; P < 0.001), unemployment (OR: 3.28 [2.05, 5.24]; P < 0.001), underweight (OR: 13.43 [4.17, 43.21]; P < 0.001) and history of pre-eclampsia (OR: 9.01 [2.18, 37.75]; P = 0.002) emerged as independent PPCM risk factors using regression models. Customary hot baths (OR: 1.24 [0.80, 1.93]; P = 0.344), pap enriched with dried lake salt (OR: 1.20 [0.74, 1.94]; P = 0.451), and Hausa-Fulani ethnicity (OR: 1.11 [0.67, 1.84]; P = 0.698) did not achieve significance as PPCM risk factors. Conclusions: In Nigeria, the burden of PPCM was greatest in the North-West zone, which has the highest known incidence. PPCM was predicted by sociodemographic factors and pre-eclampsia, which should be considered in its control at population level. Postpartum customary birth practices and Hausa-Fulani ethnicity were not associated with PPCM in Nigeria