Sunday Adedeji Aderibigbe

Prevalence of stroke in three semi-urban communities in middle-belt region of Nigeria: A door to door survey

Introduction The burden of stroke has been projected to increase for developing countries, but data are limited, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This necessitated this study to determine the stroke prevalence in a semi urban community in middle-belt region of Nigeria. Methods A two-phase door-to-door study was performed in three semi-urban communities of Kwara state; in the first phase 12,992 residents were screened and probable stroke cases were identified by trained health care workers. In the second phase individuals adjudged to be positive for stroke were screened with a stroke-specific questionnaire and made to undergo a complete neurological examination by a neurologist. Stroke diagnosis was based on clinical evaluation using WHO criteria. Results Out of the numbers that were screened, 18 probable stroke cases were identified in the first stage, and of these, 17 fulfilled WHO criteria for stroke, giving a crude prevalence rate of 1.31/1000 population. The prevalence of stroke was higher among the males than the females (1.54/1000 vs. 1.08/1000) with a ratio 1.4: 1. Sixteen subjects (94.1%) had one or more risk factors for stroke. Uncontrolled systemic hypertension (82.4%) was the commonest risk factors for stroke followed by transient ischaemic attack (TIA) (41.2%). Conclusion Stroke is a condition that is prevalent in our environment; especially in older adults and men. Uncontrolled systemic hypertension and previous transient ischaemic attacks were the commonest risk factors for stroke in our community.

Ownership and utilisation of long lasting insecticide treated nets following free distribution campaign in South West Nigeria

Introduction Malaria has proven to be the most horrendous and intractable amongst the health problems confronting countries in the sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to determine the ownership and utilisation of long lasting insecticide treated nets following free distribution campaign in a state in South West Nigeria. Methods Multi-stage sampling technique was used to recruit 2560 households spread across the 16 LGAs of the state. Interviewer administered standardized questionnaire was used for the survey. Data analysis was done using Stata 10 software. Results Sixty eight point six percent (68.6%) of the households had at least one under-five child living in the household while 32.6% had at least one pregnant woman living in the household. A total of 2440 (95.3%) households received LLIN during the campaign. Overall, the utilization rate for all respondents was 58.5%. Despite the fact that 2440 households received LLINs during the campaign, only 84.3% of them were seen to have hung theirs during the survey. Conclusion Coverage and ownership of LLINs increased significantly following the free distribution campaign. There was a discrepancy between net possession and net use with rate of use lower than possession. Post distribution educational campaign should be incorporated into future distribution campaigns to help increase net utilisation.

The Financial Burden of Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases in Rural Nigeria: Wealth and Gender Heterogeneity in Health Care Utilization and Health Expenditures

Objectives Better insights into health care utilization and out-of-pocket expenditures for non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCD) are needed to develop accessible health care and limit the increasing financial burden of NCCDs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods A household survey was conducted in rural Kwara State, Nigeria, among 5,761 individuals. Data were obtained using biomedical and socio-economic questionnaires. Health care utilization, NCCD-related health expenditures and distances to health care providers were compared by sex and by wealth quintile, and a Heckman regression model was used to estimate health expenditures taking selection bias in health care utilization into account. Results The prevalence of NCCDs in our sample was 6.2%. NCCD-affected individuals from the wealthiest quintile utilized formal health care nearly twice as often as those from the lowest quintile (87.8% vs 46.2%, p = 0.002). Women reported foregone formal care more often than men (43.5% vs. 27.0%, p = 0.058). Health expenditures relative to annual consumption of the poorest quintile exceeded those of the highest quintile 2.2-fold, and the poorest quintile exhibited a higher rate of catastrophic health spending (10.8% among NCCD-affected households) than the three upper quintiles (4.2% to 6.7%). Long travel distances to the nearest provider, highest for the poorest quintile, were a significant deterrent to seeking care. Using distance to the nearest facility as instrument to account for selection into health care utilization, we estimated out-of-pocket health care expenditures for NCCDs to be significantly higher in the lowest wealth quintile compared to the three upper quintiles. Conclusions Facing potentially high health care costs and poor accessibility of health care facilities, many individuals suffering from NCCDs—particularly women and the poor—forego formal care, thereby increasing the risk of more severe illness in the future. When seeking care, the poor spend less on treatment than the rich, suggestive of lower quality care, while their expenditures represent a higher share of their annual household consumption. This calls for targeted interventions that enhance health care accessibility and provide financial protection from the consequences of NCCDs, especially for vulnerable populations.

HIV-free survival according to the early infant-feeding practices; a retrospective study in an anti-retroviral therapy programme in Makurdi, Nigeria

BackgroundIn Nigeria, reports of the outcomes of prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) interventions had been limited to the MTCT rates of HIV, with no information on HIV-free survival (HFS) in the HIV-exposed infants over time.MethodsA retrospective study between June 2008 and December 2011 at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Nigeria comparing HFS rates at 3 and 18xa0months according to the infant feeding pattern at the 6th week of life. HFS was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and association of maternal and infant variables and risk of HIV acquisition or death was tested in a Cox regression analysis.Results801 HIV uninfected infants at 6xa0weeks of life were studied in accordance with their reported cumulative feeding pattern. This includes 196 infants on exclusive breast feeding (EBF); 544 on exclusive breast milk substitute (EBMS) feeding and 61 on mixed feeding (MF). The overall HFS was 94.4% at 3xa0months and this declined significantly to 87.1% at the 18xa0months of age (p-valueu2009=u20090.000). The infants on MF had the lowest HFS rates of 75.7% at 3xa0months and 69.8% at 18xa0months. The HFS rate for infants on EBF was 97.4% at 3xa0months and 92.5% at 18xa0month whilst infants on EBMS had HFS of 99.1% at 3xa0months and 86.2% at 18xa0months. A higher and significant drop off in HFS at the two time points occurred between infants on EBMS (12.9%) compared to infants on EBF (4.9%), p-value of 0.002, but not between infants on MF (5.9%) and EBMS, p-value of 0.114 and those on MF and EBF, p-value of 0.758. In Cox regression multivariate analyses; MF, gestational age of ˂ 37xa0weeks, and a high pre-delivery maternal viral load were consistently associated with HIV infection or death at 3xa0months and 18xa0months (p ˂0.05).ConclusionFor a better HFS in our setting; MF must be avoided, efforts to deliver babies at term in mothers with reduced viral load are advocated and EBF must be promoted as the safest and the most feasible mode of infant-feeding.

The effect of health insurance and health facility-upgrades on hospital deliveries in rural Nigeria: a controlled interrupted time-series study

Abstract Background: Access to quality obstetric care is considered essential to reducing maternal and new‐born mortality. We evaluated the effect of the introduction of a multifaceted voluntary health insurance programme on hospital deliveries in rural Nigeria. Methods: We used an interrupted time‐series design, including a control group. The intervention consisted of providing voluntary health insurance covering primary and secondary healthcare, including antenatal and obstetric care, combined with improving the quality of healthcare facilities. We compared changes in hospital deliveries from 1 May 2005 to 30 April 2013 between the programme area and control area in a difference‐in‐differences analysis with multiple time periods, adjusting for observed confounders. Data were collected through household surveys. Eligible households (n = 1500) were selected from a stratified probability sample of enumeration areas. All deliveries during the 4‐year baseline period (n = 460) and 4‐year follow‐up period (n = 380) were included. Findings: Insurance coverage increased from 0% before the insurance was introduced to 70.2% in April 2013 in the programme area. In the control area insurance coverage remained 0% between May 2005 and April 2013. Although hospital deliveries followed a common stable trend over the 4 pre‐programme years (P = 0.89), the increase in hospital deliveries during the 4‐year follow‐up period in the programme area was 29.3 percentage points (95% CI: 16.1 to 42.6; P < 0.001) greater than the change in the control area (intention‐to‐treat impact), corresponding to a relative increase in hospital deliveries of 62%. Women who did not enroll in health insurance but who could make use of the upgraded care delivered significantly more often in a hospital during the follow‐up period than women living in the control area (P = 0.04). Conclusions: Voluntary health insurance combined with quality healthcare services is highly effective in increasing hospital deliveries in rural Nigeria, by improving access to healthcare for insured and uninsured women in the programme area.

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction and possible risk factors among men of South-Western Nigeria: a population based study

Introduction Erectile dysfunction (ED) is currently one of the most common sexual dysfunctions worldwide but it is usually underestimated because it is not a life threatening condition. The associated stigma makes men who have it to suffer in silence. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of erectile dysfunction and the possible associated risk factors among Nigerian men. Methods The study was a descriptive cross-sectional population based survey among men aged 30-80 years in Ogbomoso, South-west, Nigeria. A multistage random sampling method was used. The instrument used was the International Index of Erectile Function Questionnaire-5 (IIEF-5). Unadjusted odds ratios of possible risk factors were calculated by univariate analyses. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to eliminate the effect of possible confounders on the risk factors to get the adjusted odds ratios. Results The general prevalence of ED in this study was 58.9%. Sixty-seven (47.2%), 16 (11.3%) and 59(41.5%) respondents had mild, moderate and severe ED respectively. Age, hypertension, use of anti-hypertensive drugs, diabetes mellitus and heart disease all had significant unadjusted associations with ED, but their adjusted associations were not statistically significant. Diabetes mellitus maintained a positive statistically significant relationship with ED after adjustment for potential confounders [OR= 8.31(95% CI 1.02 - 67.65), P= 0.048]. Conclusion The prevalence of ED is high among south-western Nigeria male adults. Physicians, especially primary care ones, need to pay more attention to the sexual history of their patients in order to diagnose and manage ED more frequently.

Tuberculosis, before and after Antiretroviral Therapy among HIV-Infected Children in Nigeria: What Are the Risk Factors?

Introduction In Nigeria, there is a dearth of pediatric data on the risk factors associated with tuberculosis (TB), before and after antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methodology A retrospective observational cohort study, between October 2010 and December 2013, at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Nigeria. TB was noted among children less than 15 years of age at ART enrolment (prevalent TB-PrevTB), within 6 months (early incident tuberculosis-EITB) and after 6 months (late incident tuberculosis-LITB) of a 12-month follow-up on ART. Potential risk factors for PrevTB and incident TB were assessed using the multivariate logistic and Cox regression models respectively. Results Among 368 HIV-1 infected children, PrevTB was diagnosed in 73 children (19.8%). Twenty-eight EITB cases were diagnosed among 278 children over 132 person-years (py) with an EITB rate of 21.2/100 py. Twelve LITB cases were seen among 224 children over 221.9 py with a LITB rate of 5.4/100 py. A significant reduction in the incidence rates of TB was found over time (75%, p˂ 0.001). Young age of children (12–35 months, aOR; 24, 95% CI; 4.1–146.6, p ˂ 0.001; 36–59 months, aOR;21, 95%CI;4.0–114.3, p ˂ 0.001); history of TB in children (aOR; 29, 95% CI; 7.3–119.4, P˂ 0.001); severe immunosuppression (aOR;38, 95% CI;12–123.2,p ˂ 0.001); oropharyngeal candidiasis (aOR;3.3, 95% CI; 1.4–8.0, p = 0.009) and sepsis (aOR; 3.2, 95% CI;1.0–9.6, p = 0.043) increased the risk of PrevTB. Urban residency was protective against EITB (aHR; 0.1, 95% CI; 0.0–0.4, p = 0.001). Virological failure (aHR; 4.7, 95% CI; 1.3–16.5, p ˂ 0.001) and sepsis (aHR; 26, 95% CI; 5.3–131.9, p ˂ 0.001) increased the risk of LITB. Conclusions In our cohort of HIV-infected children, a significant reduction in cases of incident TB was seen following a 12-month use of ART. After ART initiation, TB screening should be optimized among children of rural residency, children with sepsis, and those with poor virological response to ART.

Energy drinks consumption among football players in Lagos, Nigeria

Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence, frequency and reasons for the consumption of energy drinks among members of registered football clubs in Lagos, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed and the study setting was Onikan Stadium Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 350 members of the football clubs. Method: A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence, frequency and reasons for consumption of energy drinks. Epi Info® software (version 6.04) was used for data analysis. Results: Most of the respondents (76.3%) were energy-drink consumers but none of them was a daily user. Most of those who took it (71.9%) drank at least two cans a week. Power Horse™ was the most preferred choice (58.4%) and more than one-third (37.1%) mixed it with alcohol. The commonest reasons for using energy drinks were leisure (42%), performance enhancement (25.1%) and drinking with friends (25.1%). Single students between ages 21 and 30 years consumed energy drinks more than married, younger or older workers (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The majority of the football players were weekly energy-drink users and the commonest reason for consumption was leisure. Although it can be expected that football players consume energy drinks to enhance their sporting performance, it was of concern to find that one-third of the football players mixed energy drinks with alcohol. Education regarding the effects of energy-drink consumption and alcohol is needed among the football players in Lagos.

Mortality in a Cohort of HIV-Infected Children: A 12-Month Outcome of Antiretroviral Therapy in Makurdi, Nigeria

Introduction Recognizing the predictors of mortality among HIV-infected children will allow for concerted management that can reduce HIV-mortality in Nigeria. Methodology A retrospective cohort study in children aged 0–15 years, between October 2010 and December 2013, at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Nigeria. Kaplan–Meier method analysed the cumulative probability of early mortality (EM) occurring at or before 6 months and after 6 months of follow-up (late mortality-LM) on a 12-month antiretroviral therapy (ART). Multivariate Cox proportional regression models were used to test for hazard ratios (HR). Results 368 children were included in the analysis contributing 81 children per 100 child-years to the 12-month ART follow-up. A significant reduction in EM rates was noted at 17.3 deaths per 100 child-years (30 deaths) to LM rates of 3.0 deaths per 100 child-years (10 deaths), p < 0.01. At multivariate analysis, children with a high pretreatment viral load (≥10,000u2009copies/ml) were found to be at risk of EM (aHR; 18. 089, 95% CI; 2.428–134.77, p=0.005). Having severe immunosuppression at/or before 6 months of ART was the predictor of LM (aHR; 17.28, 95% CI; 3.844–77.700, p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions Although a lower mortality rate is seen at 12 months of ART in our setting, predictors of HIV mortality are having high pretreatment HIV viral load and severe immunosuppression. While primary prevention of HIV infection is paramount, early identification of these predictors among our HIV-infected children for an early ART initiation can reduce further the mortality in our setting. In addition, measures to ensure a good standard of care and retention in care for a sustained virologic suppression cannot be ignored and are hereby underscored.