Background: Hypertension and abnormal body mass index (BMI) are a cause of increased morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of hypertension with correlates to BMI among patients with DM seen in a tertiary hospital in Oghara, Delta State. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and forty-four diabetic subjects were retrospectively evaluated at the Endocrinology Clinic of the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, Nigeria. Data obtained from medical records included presence of hypertension confirmed by presence of elevated blood pressure >140/90 mmHg on two consecutive clinic visits or known hypertensive on medications, age, sex, type of diabetes, weight and height with computation of BMI. Results: The prevalence of hypertension among the diabetic patients was 57.4%. Eighty-two males (58.5%) were hypertensive compared with 58 (41.5%) in female subjects. The prevalence of hypertension was higher in overweight and obese diabetic subjects than in normal weight subjects and also higher in type 2 diabetic patients compared to type 1, which were both statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Hypertension is a common co-morbidity arising diabetic patients in this study. The focus must be on health education, lifestyle modification and adherence to anti-hypertensive therapy to control hypertension in diabetic patients.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub] [CITATIONS]

[FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Background: Sickle cell disorders are chronic debilitating genetic disorders affecting the red cells. Sickle cell disorders were originally found in the tropics and subtropics but are now common worldwide due to migration of people from tropical to temperate zones. Objective: The objective was to describe pattern and factors associated with hemoglobin (Hb) genotype testing among children attending a University Teaching Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. Methodology: The study was conducted at the General Children Outpatient Clinics of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos in South west Nigeria. It is a cross-sectional study using research administered questionnaire to obtain information from caregivers. Results: A total of 202 subjects aged 6 months to 15 years were conveniently recruited. Overall, the Hb genotype uptake rate was 17.8%. The overall prevalence of Hb disorders was 25.8%. One-ninth of the subjects with known Hb genotype status at commencement of the study had their Hb genotype status confirmed before the age of 1 year. First birth order and upper social stratum were significantly associated with younger age at Hb genotype uptake. Conclusion: Fewer children had Hb genotype uptake during infancy and this underscores the need for early Hb genotype testing of infants. This screening can be during the prenatal, neonatal or at most in infancy during immunization, and infant welfare clinics visit.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is not a cure for human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), but rather it is used for optimal suppression of the viral load to an undetectable serum level, hence it remains a palliative measure to improve the quality of life and longevity by impeding the rate of disease progression. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the level of adherence, the prevailing contributory factors to adherence as well as nonadherence of HIV/AIDS patients to ART at Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH), Orlu, Nigeria. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study of HIV/AIDS patients receiving anti-retroviral drugs at IMSUTH, Orlu. It was carried out using interviewer - administered questionnaire involving 400 respondents. The collected data was analyzed manually using electronic calculator and results were presented in frequency tables. Results: The result showed a high level of adherence of HIV/AIDS patients to anti-retroviral drugs as 383 (96.2%) were adherent, while 15 (3.8%) were not adherent. Some reasons given for nonadherence to treatment were self-discouragement, toxicity of the drugs especially skin rashes, attitude of health workers, stigma, and distance to the hospital hence they may not be able to access their medications as and at when due. Conclusion: There is a significant high level of adherence of HIV/AIDS patients to ART at IMSUTH, Orlu, probably due to their high level of formal education as majority of the respondents 333 (83.0%) achieved at least a secondary level of education.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]

Background: This study developed a novel measure termed as an institutional impact factor (IIF), which was used for predicting the trends of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) resulting from poor management of the health system. Methods: A total of 3518 publications from Nigeria in PubMed from 1975 to 2005, were used to obtain IIF for each institution studied. The study periods compared, were period A (1975-1989), period B (1990-2004), and period C (1990-2005). Results: The public health sector period A mean ± standard error (SE) IIF was 1.423 ± 0.09, and dropped significantly in period B, to IIF of 0.704 ± 0.024, P < 0.001. Conversely, in period A, the mean ± SE MMR, was 508.8 ± 115.7/100,000 live births, and rose significantly in period B to MMR of 1895.5 ± 363.7/100,000 live births, P < 0.05. The linear regression model suggested a negative correlation between IIF and MMR. The overall, F (1,18) =15.5, P < 0.001, R² was 0.463, BETA coefficient was − 0.68, P < 0.0001. The intercept 2957.6 was significant, P < 0.0001. We predicted that the Millennium Development Goals 5 required a 75% drop in MMR to 127/100,000 live births, and IIF rise to 1.69, in 2015. Conclusion: The IIF may be a health metric index for monitoring efficiency of the health workforce.

[ABSTRACT]  [FULL TEXT]  [PDF]  [Mobile Full text]  [EPub]