Background:Obesity once thought the medical problem of affluent countries now exist in Nigeria and has been described as a time bomb for the future explosion in the frequency of cardio-metabolic diseases. The most deleterious health consequences of obesity are on the cardiovascular system and associated disorder of lipid and glucose homeostasis.Aim:This study was designed to determine the magnitude of obesity and its cardio-metabolic co-morbidities among adult Nigerians in a primary care clinic of a tertiary hospital South-Eastern, Nigeria.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study carried out on 2391 adult Nigerians who were assessed for obesity using body mass index (BMI) criterion. 206 patients who had BMI ≥30kg/m2 were screened for cardio-metabolic co-morbidities. The data collected included basic demographic variables, weight, height, blood pressure; fasting plasma glucose and lipid profile.Results:The prevalence of obesity was 8.6%. Grade I obesity (67.5%) was the most common pattern; others included grade II obesity (23.3%) and grade III obesity (9.2%). Hypertension (42.7%) was the most common cardio-metabolic morbidity. Others included low HDL-cholesterol (22.8%), diabetes mellitus (15.1%), high triglyceride (12.6%), high total cholesterol (9.2%), and high LDL-cholesterol (6.8%).Conclusion:Obesity and its cardio-metabolic morbidities exist among the study population. Anthropometric determination of obesity and screening for its associated cardio-metabolic co-morbidities should constitute clinical targets for intervention in primary care clinics.

Background:Hepatitis-B infection is not commonly perceived as a serious medical problem in Nigeria. However, chronic hepatitis-B infection, which is a subject of global concern, may lead to lethal liver diseases.Aim:The study was to determine the sero-epidemiology of hepatitis-B surface antigenaemia among adult Nigerians with clinical features of liver diseases attending a primary-care clinic in a resource-constrained setting of Eastern Nigeria.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was carried out on 140 adult Nigerians with clinical features of liver diseases at the primary-care clinic of Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. They made up three groups: 44 patients, 62 patients and 34 patients with clinical features of hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively. Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) was assayed using an immunochromatographic method. Demographic variables were collected.Results:The overall sero-positivity rate was 50.7%. The sero-positivity rates for these patients were 23.9%, 39.5% and 36.6% for hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively. The age group 40-60 years (P = 0.048) and artisans (P = 0.019) were significantly infected. Abdominal swelling (86.4%) and ascites (67.1%) were the most common symptoms and signs, respectively.Conclusion:HBsAg prevalence was high and has significant association with age and occupation.