The purpose of this study was to carry out a comparative study to investigate the effect of lipid profile, oestradiol and obesity on the risk of a woman developing breast cancer. This study was carried out at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Peace and Love Hospital, Oduom, Kumasi and Redeemed Clinic, Nima, Accra between May 2002 and March 2003. In this study, 200 consented women comprising 100 breast cancer patients (43 pre- and 57 post-menopausal) and 100 controls (45 pre- and 55 post-menopausal) with similar age range (25 to 80 years) were assessed for lipid profile, oestradiol and BMI. There was a significant increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) (p = 0.011), Total Cholesterol (TC) (p < 0.001), triglyceride (p = 0.026) and low density lipoprotein (LDL-cholesterol) (p = 0.001) of the breast cancer patients compared to the controls. With the exception of oestradiol (EST) that decreased, the lipid profile generally increased with age in both subjects and controls with the subjects having a much higher value than the corresponding control. There was also a significant positive correlation between BMI and TC (r2 = 0.022; p = 0.002) and also between BMI and LDL-cholesterol (r2 = 0.031; p = 0.0003). Apart from EST and LDL-cholesterol that were increased significantly only in the postmenopausal phase in comparison to the controls, BMI, TC and TG were increased in both pre-menopausal and post menopausal phases with HDL-cholesterol remaining unchanged. This study confirms the association between dyslipidaemia, BMI and increased breast cancer risk.

Background: Antiretrovirals (ARVs) could lead to clinically significant nephrotoxicity and as such will require dose adjustments in the presence of renal insufficiency. Objective: To explore renal function estimating equations as alternatives for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurement in a stable cohort of HIV-infected patients. Method: In estimating renal insufficiency in Ghanaian HIV-infected patients, GFR for 276 HAART-naïve patients and 166 patients on HAART was estimated with the Cockcroft-Gault, 4v-MDRD and CKD-EPI estimating equations. Results: Females outnumbered males by 3 to 1 in the HAART-naïve group and 4 to 1 in subjects on HAART. The prevalence of renal insufficiency calculated with the Cockcroft-Gault, 4v-MDRD and CKD-EPI equations was 8.7%, 9.1% and 8.7% in HAART-naïve patients; 14.5%, 12.6% and 12.6% in patients on HAART; 7.7%, 11.5% and 11.5% in HAARTnaïve males; 10.8%, 8.1% and 8.1% in males on HAART; 9.1%, 8.0% and 7.5% in HAART-naïve females and 15.5%, 14.0% and 14.0% in females on HAART. The CKD-EPI equation yielded lower bias when compared to the Cockcroft-Gault and 4v-MDRD equations. Conclusion: Renal insufficiency is not uncommon among HIV infected Ghanaian patients. A significant proportion (10 to 11%) will require ARV dose adjustment at the time of initiating therapy or sometime during on-going therapy.

This study investigate the occurrence and the prevalence of autoantibodies and the metabolic characteristics of autoimmune and antibody-negative type 2, diabetes in recently diagnosed diabetes mellitus patients in Kumasi, Ghana. This study involved a total of 120 recently diagnosed (< 1 year) Ghanaian diabetes mellitus patients (17 insulin-requiring and 103 non insulin-requiring) and 60 controls. A standardized questionnaire was used. Blood pressure and anthropometric measurements were taken. Fasting glucose, lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were measured by enzymatic methods and HbA(1C) levels by agglutination test. Serum insulin level and autoantibodies (ICA, GAD ab and IAA) were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Out of the 17 insulin-requiring, six were positive for either GAD ab or ICA or both. Out of the 103 non insulin-requiring, 16.5% were positive for ICA and/or GAD ab and/or IAA. The prevalence of Latent Auto-immune Diabetes of Adults (LADA) in the non-insulin requiring and in the total diabetic patients, were 13.5 and 11.7%, respectively. The prevalence of autoimmune type 1 diabetes in the studied population was 7.5% and that of autoimmune diabetes in the total diabetic population was 19.2%. Autoimmune and autoantibody-negative type 2, diabetes did not differ (p = ns) in the mean values of clinical and metabolic parameters, except hypertension, central obesity and HbA(1C) values. Autoimmune diabetes occurs in recently diagnosed diabetic patients in Ghana at prevalence comparable to that in developed countries. Both ICA and GAD ab tests are required to identify autoimmune diabetes.

This study sought to establish the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among active sportsmen/sportswomen and sedentary workers in the Kumasi Metropolis using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III), World Health Organization (WHO), and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. The study was conducted between March and April, 2010. One hundred and eighty six (186) participants were involved with eighty five (85) being active sportsmen/sportswomen as study control and one hundred and one (101) sedentary workers from the Kumasi metropolis as study subjects. The study participants were recruited from a population of young and adult individuals between the ages of 19-82 years. The percentage prevalence of MetS was 1.6%, 7.4% and 14.4% when the WHO, NCEP-ATP III and IDF criteria respectively were applied on the total population. Generally, the prevalence of MetS was significantly higher among the sedentary group i.e. 3.5%, 14.0% and 26.7% for WHO, NCEP-ATP III and IDF criteria respectively as compared to the active population i.e. 0.0%, 2.0% and 3.9% for WHO, NCEP-ATP III and IDF criteria respectively. The prevalence of the MetS varied greatly between the active and sedentary subjects depending on the criteria used. Central obesity appears to be the key determinant of the prevalence of the MetS in Ghana. Preventive actions such as exercise, active lifestyles and healthy eating habits have to be implemented to reduce the tendency to obesity and MetS in the Ghanaian populace.

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