Foods of animal origin represent an important share in the diet of Cameroonian populations. Cameroon is known to be a food basket in the west and central Africa sub-region, and an important supplier of foods on the international markets. In the meantime, food importation is continuously increasing to meet the high demand of a more westernized segment of the population. Cereals, fish, sea products, eggs, honey, shrimps, chicken, and feed ingredients are important share in the international trade of agricultural products. Few controls are made on the quality and safety of these products. Certain safety standards do exist but are still yet to be enforced. Inspections done so far by regulatory authorities are partial and do not cover important hazards that require laboratory analysis. The increasing awareness of population, the burden of new types of disease, as well as the recurrence of food scandals have recently launched a scientific and population debate on the contribution of foods items, especially those of animal origin, to the toxic exposure of food producing animals and humans. This paper critically reviews the occurrence of toxicants in most consumed foods of animal origin in Cameroon. This study included the most consumed food of animal origin, identified during the national household budget survey and contributing to 8.1% of the total diet of an individual. Data evaluated suggest an important contamination by toxic metals, mycotoxins, veterinary drugs’ residues, and pesticides. The current national legal framework is briefly analyzed to explore possible intervention measures in the frame of the One Health approach.

Uncontrolled blood pressure is a threat to diabetic patients’ life. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors of hypertension among diabetic patients at different stages from Yaoundé Central Hospital and Etoug-Ebe Baptist Health Center of Cameroon. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted for 6 months, and 109 participants (types 1 and 2), aged 24–81 years, were enrolled using simple random sampling. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data, habitual behaviors, clinical history blood pressure, and anthropometric measures. The prevalence of hypertension was 86.2%. Of the total, 13.8% participants were normotensive, 32.1% stage 1 hypertensive, and 54.1% stage 2 hypertensive. Being a male (p=0.046) and not smoking (p=0.036) were negatively associated with stage 1 hypertension whereas eating less than 3 times (p=0.046) and duration of diabetes greater than 9 years among women (p=0.039) were positively associated. Age above 40 years (p=0.002) was negatively associated with stage 2 hypertension. However, age above 40 years had a negative effect among Christian, less educated diabetics, people having diabetes for more than 9 years, and those on medical treatment (5.556≤specific OR≤10.278). Duration of diabetes (age-adjusted OR=1.155; p=0.003) and abnormal waist circumference (crude OR=4.074; p=0.024) were positively associated with stage 2. Abnormal waist-to-hip ratio (crude OR=3.773; p=0.028) and feeding rate greater than 2 times a day (WHR-adjusted OR=3.417; p=0.046) were positively associated with hypertension (stages 1 and 2). This study suggests that hypertension, present at its two stages, is a serious health issue among diabetic patients. Thus, appropriate intervention should be put in place to prevent and control hypertension by managing identified risk factors.

Drypetes gossweilleri S. Moore is a plant used in traditional medicine in Cameroon. The antifungal properties of its stem-bark crude extract and fractions DG(1), DG(2), DG(3), DG(4), DG(5), DG(6), DG(7), DG(8) and DG(9) were assayed by agar and broth dilution methods on solid and liquid media against C. Krusei, C. albicans, C. glabrata, T. mentagerophytes, M. langeroinii, M. gypeum, M. audouini, T. rubrum, T. soudanense, T. terrestre, A. flavus and A. niger. The results revealed a substantial antifungal effect with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging respectively from 24.11µg/ml to 1562µg/ml for yeasts and from 3125µg/ml to 12500µg/ml for filamentous fungi. Among the fractions, fraction DG4 exerted the highest antifungal activity. Moreover, no toxic effect was noticed in male and female albinos Wistar rats treated per os with the crude stem bark's extract of Drypetes gossweileri at a dose up to 12g/kg of body weight. The phytochemical screening of the crude extract and fractions showed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, saponins, anthocyanines, anthraquinones, sterols, lipids and essential oils. Therefore, Drypetes gossweileri may be safe as phytomedecine for the treatment of fungal infections.

To gain further understanding of the interlinkages between poor water access, household food insecurity, and undernutrition among children, this study used a cross-sectional design with 474 female caretakers of children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) to explore the relationship between limited access to water and diarrheal diseases among children, aged <5 years, experiencing MAM. The mean age of the caretakers was 28.50±6.88 years and that of their MAM children (sex ratio=0.7) was 17.79±9.59 months. The participants reported spending an average of 19.29±15.69 min for one trip to fetch water. A negative correlation was found between mean time spent fetching drinking water and hygiene and handwashing score (r=−0.141, p=0.003). Furthermore, the more severe the food insecurity status of a household, the farther the family member likely had to go to fetch for drinking water [F(2, 444)=8.64, p≤0.001]. Results from binary logistic regression showed that children from households practicing open defecation (p=0.008) and/or having inadequate hygiene practices (p=0.004) had increased odds of developing diarrhea. Therefore, ameliorating water access in households with MAM children could contribute to improvements in hygiene and sanitation attitudes with a subsequent increase in the effectiveness of nutrition interventions aiming at reducing acute malnutrition among children.

Objective. To examine changes in measures of adiposity and determine the prevalence of excess adiposity in relation to height in school children between 2010 and 2020. Methods. 5–12-year-old urban school-age children participated in two cross-sectional surveys in 2010 (n = 1274) and 2020 (n = 1550). Standard procedures were used for anthropometric measurements. Changes in BMI, waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and the corresponding proportions of children with excess adiposity were analyzed and adjusted for design variables (class and school type) and age. Children were classified according to quartiles of height z-score and prevalence of excess adiposity estimated across each quartile. Results. There was a 2.4% and 3.3% increase in adjusted mean BMI and WC, respectively, between 2010 and 2020. The prevalence of central overweight/obesity (WC) and WHtR ≥ 0.5 increased by 7.3% (X2 = 27.151, p < 0.001 ) and 5.3% (X2 = 26.117, p < 0.001 ), respectively, between the two surveys except BMI overweight/obesity. The odds of excess adiposity significantly increased in 2020 for central overweight/obesity (WC) (OR 2.8, 95% CI 2.0–3.6) and WHtR ≥ 0.5 (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3–2.4) and not for BMI overweight/obesity (OR 1.3, 95% CI 0.8–1.7). The prevalence of BMI overweight/obesity significantly increased from 33% in 2010 to 51.5% in 2020 in the fourth quartile of height z-score (X2 = 19.198, p < 0.001 ). Similarly, the prevalence of central overweight/obesity (WC) significantly increased from 23.5% in 2010 to 42.4% in 2020 in the fourth quartile of height z-score (X2 = 18.733, p < 0.001 ). Conclusion. Central overweight/obesity has increased more than BMI overweight/obesity over the last decade. Children with a higher height-for-age tend to accumulate more adiposity. Objective monitoring of adiposity levels and height of children is needed in future to identify groups for targeted intervention and prevention of chronic diseases.