BackgroundHypertension is a prevalent cardiovascular disease risk factor among blacks and adolescent hypertension can progress into adulthood.ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension among secondary school adolescents in Enugu South East Nigeria.MethodologyA study of 2694 adolescents aged 10-18 years in Enugu metropolis was carried out. Socio-demographic profile anthropometric and blood pressure readings were obtained. Derived measurements such as Prehypertension, hypertension and BMI were obtained.ResultsThe results showed that the mean systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure for males were 106.66+ 11.80 mmHg and 70.25 + 7.34 mmHg respectively. The mean SBP and DBP for females were 109.83+ 11.66 mmHg and 72.23 + 8.26 mmHg respectively (p < 0.01). Blood pressure was found to increase with age. Prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension was 5.4% and 17.3% respectively with a higher rate in females (6.9%) than males (3.8%). Prevalence of prehypertension among males and females were 14.3% and 20.1% respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 1.9%.ConclusionModifiable risk factors exist among adolescents. Early lifestyle modification and a strengthened school health are recommended.
BackgroundPsycho-active substance use among adolescents is a national and global problem and its attendant effects on adolescents cannot be overemphasized.The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence and pattern of psychoactive substance use among adolescents; the substances involved and the extent of the problem in this locale.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study that assesses the pattern of psychoactive substance use among secondary school adolescents in Enugu, south East, Nigeria. The study was carried out among adolescents attending six secondary boarding schools in Enugu metropolis of Enugu State of Nigeria.The WHO Student Drug Use Questionnaire was adapted for this study.Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences program (SPSS), version 17. Chi-square and multivariate regression were used as a test of significance for qualitative variables. A p-value less than 0.05 were accepted as significant for each statistical test.ResultsOut of 900, a total of 896 respondents, comprising 400 and 82 boys (482) (53.8 %) and 400 and 14 girls (414) (46.2 %) completed the questionnaires. This gave a response rate of 99.6 %.The study revealed that the prevalence of current use for psychoactive substances ranges from 0.4 to 34.9 % while that for life use ranges from 0.8 to 63.5 %. The least being cannabis and the most being kola nuts.Kola nut is the most widely used psychoactive substance both for current use, past year use and the respondents’ life time use. It shows a lifetime prevalence of 63.5 % and a current use prevalence of 34.9 %.More than half of the users of each of the psychoactive substances take it occasionally, using them on 1–5 days in a month. On the other hand, almost one-quarter of the users of each of the substances take it on 20 or more days in a month.ConclusionThe study revealed that the prevalence of current use for psychoactive substances ranges from 0.4 to 34.9 % while that for life use ranges from 0.8 to 63.5 %. The least being cannabis and the most being kola nuts.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-016-0615-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
The current study was designed to evaluate the level of participation in a highly subsidized cervical screening in a resource-poor country. A total of 989 cervical smears performed on 932 women in Enugu, South-east Nigeria, over a 10-year period (January 1995-December 2004) was reviewed. The level of participation in cervical screening was very low, as <1% of the targeted women population participated. Almost 68% of the participants were referred for the screening and the majority (52.3%) were from lower social classes because the programme was highly subsidized. A total of 646 (65.3%) smears were normal. Of the abnormal smears, 193 (19.5%) had non-specific inflammatory changes, 136 (13.8%) showed dyskaryotic cells while 14 (1.4%) had neoplastic changes. A total of 57 (6.1%) women had more than one cervical cancer screening and they were characterised by increasing age, up to 59 years, higher social classes and contraceptive users in lower social classes. To reverse the low level of participation in cervical cancer screening in developing countries, there is a need to provide highly subsidized (if not free) cervical cancer screening services, which must be followed by sustained cervical cancer awareness campaign.
Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and socio-economic determinants of autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that assessed the prevalence and socio-economic pattern of childhood autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in Enugu and Ebonyi states, South East Nigeria. The questionnaire was adapted from American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). The study was carried out between June and October, 2014. The schools were selected by listing all the mixed schools in the urban and semi-urban areas by simple random sampling. Results: A total of 721 subjects completed the questionnaire. The age of respondents ranged between 3 and 18 years, with mean age of 12.71 and standard deviation of 3.03 years. Twenty one children fulfilled the criteria for autism giving a prevalence of 2.9%. There is a significant association between age in categories (fishers exact test, p = 0.013) and social class (p=0.033). Conclusion: The prevalence of autism was 2.9%; and the socio-economic characteristics of childhood autism in South East Nigeria are similar to those in other parts of the world.
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