Following our previous observation of an aversion to weight reduction in Nigerians with type 2 diabetes, we measured several parameters of body dimensions and preferences in otherwise healthy adults in three communities to study the phenomenon further. The study population of 524 participants (304 F) was 99.8% of Yoruba ethnic origin with a mean age of 43.9 ± 17.2 years. Females had a significantly (p > 0.001) higher body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference compared to the males; the values being 24.55 ± 5.5 vs. 21.75 ± 3.71 kg/m(2); 84.98 ± 12.67 vs. 80.92 ± 9.85 cm; 96.32 ± 12.94 vs. 89.36 ± 8.06 cm, respectively. There was a high level of satisfaction amongst respondents with their body size (Kendall's t = 0.52, p < 0.001) which they also predicted with a high degree of certainty even without the prior use of a weighing scale. The relationship between current body size (CBI) and BMI emerged as CBI = 1.22 + 0.32 BMI. In the 41% of respondents who expressed unhappiness with their current body size, there was a strong aversion for a smaller body size and the preference was often for a bigger body figure. Strikingly, many more women than men were less dissatisfied with their bigger body sizes. Stepwise regression indicated that CBI and gender were the two most important variables that best related to casual blood sugar (RBS) among the factors entered. The mathematical relationship between these variables that emerged was: [Formula: see text] where gender = 0 for male and 1 for female. The results suggest that larger body sizes were positively viewed in these communities consistent with our previous observations in type 2 diabetes.

The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of the 2004 national artemisinin-based malaria treatment policy on consumption pattern of antimalarials. The study was undertaken at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Nigeria. Prescription and sales data at our pharmacy outlets were gathered from January to December 2004 and compared with similar data for 2005 after policy introduction in January 2005. Total consumption of antimalarials in 2004 was 23,404 doses, made up of artemisinin-containing medications (ACMs; 18.5%); sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP; 7.1%); chloroquine (CQ; 72.85%); and quinine (QUI; 1.6%), compared with 26,383 doses in 2005, made up of ACMs (50.00%); SP (22.7%); CQ (27.3%); and QUI (0%). Z-tests indicate that these differences in proportions were significant (P < 0.001) for ACMs and SP (increased) and decreased for CQ and QUI. The comparative retail price per dose of these medications was in the order: ACMs > QUI > SP > CQ. These data show increased use of antimalarials, with ACMs overtaking CQ as the dominant antimalarial class purchased from the pharmacies operated by the hospital in the first year of policy implementation. This suggests that cost alone may not be the overriding determinant of specific antimalarial consumption.

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Objective: To observe blood pressure (BP) pattern and its correlates in primary school children of northern Nigeria. Design: Sitting BP and pulse were measured in quadruplicate, then repeated after four weeks in 1,721 healthy children aged five to 16 years. Body weight and height were also measured in their school environment. Setting: Primary schools located in three communities in Zaria Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The communities were Tudun Wada (University community of migrants with some indigenous Hausa settlers), Zaria City (traditional Hausa community) and Zaria Kewaye (a rural Hausa settlement). Results: BP rose with age. However, BP levels particularly systolic was highest in children from Tudun Wada (TW) (urban), followed by those from Zaria city (ZC) (semi urban), and Zaria Kewaye (ZK) (rural). The mean systolic/diastolic BP (mmHg) were: 99/61, 94/62 and 89/60 in children aged five to ten years; and 112/69, 109/68 and 107/68 in those older than 10 years respectively. The differences in BP levels were evident even as early as the age of five years and appears largely independent of physical stature and gender. Conclusion: These observations suggest that place of residence and ethnicity may be important factors in the progression of BP with age in some children in northern Nigeria.

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A number of investigators have reported that individuals with hypertension or high blood pressure (HBP) tend to have diminished taste perception of salt (sodium chloride) as measured by taste recognition threshold. [1][2][3] However, it is not entirely clear whether this relationship is causal. Incidentally, some studies [4][5] have demonstrated that children with higher taste recognition threshold (relative taste insensitivity) for salt tend to have higher blood pressure readings, thus suggesting that the alteration in taste function could exist prior to the development of HBP.We have also observed that reduced ability to perceive salt taste is common in different populations of Nigerian teenagers. [6][7] In one community-based study involving adolescents and examining any possible link between taste sensitivity to salt and blood pressure, 8 we observed that about 14% of the variations in systolic blood pressure (SBP) was due to differences in sensitivity to salt taste. The significance of this finding, it was thought, could become clearer if such subjects were segregated on the basis of a family history of hypertension, which is a documented risk factor for the development of hypertension.9-10 Further, many studies indicate a link between diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which suggests a common pathogenesis.11-14 Consequently, in an attempt to examine further the influence of different salt taste sensitivities on the pathogenesis of hypertension, taste recognition threshold to sodium chloride (NaCL) and blood pressure were measured in normotensive offspring of hypertensives and diabetics, and the results were compared with similar data from the offspring of normotensive parents. Subjects and MethodsThe subjects were mainly the teenage offspring of the following categories of individuals: 1) hospitalized adults with complications of hypertension, e.g., stroke and or stigmata of long-standing hypertension 15 ; 2) outpatient diabetic adults on hypoglycemic drugs for at least six months, with BP readings persistently below 130/85 mm Hg 16 on three different occasions at monthly intervals. In addition, the other parent had to be available for BP measurements and had to have values not greater than 130/85 mm Hg on three different occasions at monthly intervals; and 3) Normotensive individuals hospitalized for conditions unrelated to either DM, HBP or cardiovascular disorders, or those whose BP and that of the other parent met the BP criteria as defined in 2) above.Subjects meeting these criteria were approached to volunteer after a detailed explanation of the procedures involved and the time commitment that was required. The safety and innocuous nature of solutions used were explained to participants and their parents where applicable. Thereafter, a written informed consent was obtained from each participant. Subjects were all Nigerians from the Yoruba ethnic group, except for seven in the hypertensive group who were Efik (2) and Ijaw (5). Measurement of NaCl Taste Recognition ThresholdThe method and solutions us...

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