BackgroundSickle cell anemia (SCA) is considered a major risk factor for renal complications. The main goal of this study was to determine the frequency of macroalbuminuria and microalbuminuria in Congolese children <18 years of age suffering from Sickle cell anemia and to identify associated factors.MethodsThe cross-sectional study was completed in 150 hemoglobin-SS children (77 boys and 73 girls). Microalbuminuria was defined by a urine albumin:creatinine ratio of 30–299 mg/g.ResultsThe mean age of this group was 8.8 ± 4.3 years (range 2–18). Microalbuminuria was found in 27 children (18%). In multivariate logistic regression, only age emerged as a determinant of microalbuminuria odds ratio 1.11 (95% confidence interval 1.00–1.22); P = 0.042].ConclusionsIn our series, only age was a major determinant of the occurrence of microalbuminuria. These results confirm the need for early screening of microalbuminuria in Congolese children suffering from Sickle cell anemia in a context where access to renal and bone marrow transplant is nonexistent.

Glomerular hyperfiltration was a common finding in this study and was significantly associated with age.

BackgroundDecreased residual urine volume (RUV) is associated with higher mortality in hemodialysis (HD). However, few studies have examined RUV in patients on HD in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of RUV among incident hemodialysis patients in Kinshasa.MethodsThis historical cohort study enrolled 250 patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis between January 2007 and July 2013 in two hemodialysis centers in Kinshasa. RUV were collected over 24 h at the initiation of HD and 6 and 12 months later during the interdialytic period. We compared the baseline characteristics of the patients according to their initial RUV (≤ 500 ml/day vs >  500 ml/day) using Student’s t, Mann-Whitney U and Chi2 tests. Linear mixed-effects models were used to search for predictors of decreased RUV by adding potentially predictive baseline covariates of the evolution of RUV to the effect of time: age, sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, diastolic blood pressure, diuretics, angiotensin conversion enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), angiotensin receptor blockers, hypovolemia, chronic tubulointerstitial nephropathy, left ventricular hypertrophy and initial hemodialysis characteristic. A value of p < 0.05 was considered the threshold of statistical significance.ResultsThe majority of hemodialysis patients were male (68.8%, sex ratio 2.2), with a mean age of 52.5 ± 12.3 years. The population’s RUV decreased with time, but with a slight deceleration. The mean RUV values were 680 ± 537 ml/day, 558 ± 442 ml/day and 499 ± 475 ml/day, respectively, at the initiation of HD and at 6 and 12 months later. The use of ACEI at the initiation of HD (beta coefficient 219.5, p < 0.001) and the presence of chronic tubulointerstitial nephropathy (beta coefficient 291.8, p = 0.007) were significantly associated with RUV preservation over time. In contrast, the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy at the initiation of HD was significantly associated with decreased RUV over time (beta coefficient − 133.9, p = 0.029).ConclusionsAmong incident hemodialysis patients, the use of ACEI, the presence of chronic tubulointerstitial nephropathy and reduced left ventricular hypertrophy are associated with greater RUV preservation in the first year of dialysis.

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Objective: The objective is to assess the relationship of Log (TG)/HDL-c as surrogate estimate of atherogenic dyslipidemia with urinary albumin excretion rate and cardiovascular risk among black patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients and methods: A post-hoc analysis of data from 181 type 2 diabetes patients enrolled in a cross-sectional study of urinary albumin excretion rate seen at a tertiary healthcare. Microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria were defined as ACR 30-299.9 mg/g and ACR ≥ 300 mg/g, respectively. Quartiles of Log (TG)/HDL-c were used as surrogate estimates of atherogenic dyslipidemia. Cardiovascular risk was assessed using WHO chart for estimation of CV risk in low and middle income countries. Comparisons across Log (TG)/HDL-c quartiles were performed using one way ANOVA and Chi square for trend as appropriate. P < 0.05 defined the level of statistical significance. Results: A high prevalence (69%) of atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD) was observed in the present case series of Black Africans with type 2 diabetes. Average total cholesterol levels showed significant (p = 0.010) trends towards lower values across quartiles of Log (TG)/ HDL-c. No significant trends were observed for average UAER and cardiovascular risk across quartiles of Log (TG)/HDL-c. Conclusion: Log (TG)/HDL-c as a surrogate estimate of atherogenic failed to predict cardiovascular risk in the present case series of black patients with type 2 diabetes.

A recent qualitative study on health promotion in non-communicable diseases in Sub-Saharan University students suggested sex differences in knowledge and beliefs concerning a healthy lifestyle. However, the extent to which this is reflected in sex-specific distribution of cardiovascular risk factors among Sub-Saharan African students have not been fully evaluated. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and the sex-specific distribution of some modifiable cardiovascular risk factors among students at University of Kikwit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This cross-sectional descriptive study included 780 students (62.2% men) at the University of Kikwit between January and March of 2016. Data on physical measurements, lifestyle factors, and medical history were collected. The median age (interquartile range) of the students was 23 years (21-25 years). The modifiable cardiovascular risk factors identified were: alcohol consumption (53.1%), overweight (16.4%), general obesity (1.9%), abdominal obesity (10.4%), tobacco consumption (8.1%), hypertension (7.6%) and high pulse pressure (6.4%). Compared to women, men had a higher prevalence of hypertension (9.9 vs. 3.7%; p = 0.002), tobacco consumption (10.7 vs. 3.7%; p = 0.001), and alcohol consumption (58.4 vs. 44.4%; p < 0.001). In contrast, abdominal obesity was more predominant in women than in men (23.1 vs. 2.7%; p < 0.001). This study suggests a sex-specific distribution of several modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in students at the University of Kikwit. Design of sex-specific, student-targeted health promotion programs may be warranted to reduce the prevalence of risk factors and the subsequent burden of cardiovascular diseases.

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Pleiotropy assessment is critical for the validity of Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses, and its management remains a challenging task for researchers. This review examines how the authors of MR studies address bias due to pleiotropy in practice. We reviewed Pubmed, Medline, Embase and Web of Science for MR studies published before 21 May 2020 that used at least one single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene as instrumental variable (IV) for body mass index, irrespective of the outcome. We reviewed: 1) the approaches used to prevent pleiotropy, 2) the methods cited to detect or control the independence or the exclusion restriction assumption highlighting whether pleiotropy assessment was explicitly stated to justify the use of these methods, and 3) the discussion of findings related to pleiotropy. We included 128 studies, of which thirty-three reported one approach to prevent pleiotropy, such as the use of multiple (independent) SNPs combined in a genetic risk score as IVs. One hundred and twenty studies cited at least one method to detect or account for pleiotropy, including robust and other IV estimation methods (n = 70), methods for detection of heterogeneity between estimated causal effects across IVs (n = 72), methods to detect or account associations between IV and outcome outside thought the exposure (n = 85), and other methods (n = 5). Twenty-one studies suspected IV invalidity, of which 16 explicitly referred to pleiotropy, and six incriminating FTO SNPs. Most reviewed MR studies have cited methods to prevent or to detect or control bias due to pleiotropy. These methods are heterogeneous, their triangulation should increase the reliability of causal inference.