North Central Region Of Nigeria Research Articles

Malignant Otitis Externa in a Tertiary Hospital, North Central Region of Nigeria: A 15-Year Review

Abstract Context: Malignant otitis externa (MOE) is a rare, rapidly spreading, life-threatening invasive infection of the external auditory canal and the lateral skull base which typically affects elderly patients with diabetes and immunocompromised patients. Materials and Methods: Aretrospective review of records of all patients with a diagnosis of malignant otitis external seen at the otorhinolaryngology department over a 15-year period (2007–2021) was seen. Information retrieved included the biodata, the clinical presentation, the treatment modalities, and the outcome of treatment. These were entered into SPSS version 23 and analyzed descriptively. Results: A total of 431 case notes with a diagnosis of otitis external were retrieved, but only 18 cases (4.2%) were diagnosed as malignant otitis externa. The age range was between 43 and 90 years (mean age of 65.9 yrs = ±1.2). There were about 7 males and 11 females with an M:F ratio of 1:1.6. Right ear was affected in 62.5%, and left ear in 37.5% of cases. All the patients presented with otalgia (100%), 13 (72.2%) had a history of self-ear cleaning, about 50% presented with otorrhoea, about 37.9% had hearing loss, and 27.8% had facial nerve palsy. Culture results revealed Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 72.2% of the patients sensitive to ciprofloxacin, and they were treated with parenteral and topical ciprofloxacin impregnated with steroids with good outcomes and no mortality. Conclusion: Malignant otitis externa affects more female elderly patients with diabetes; the most common presentation was otalgia, with otorrhea with facial nerve involvement in 27.8% palsy, and the most common agent isolated was P. aeruginosa, which responded to parenteral and topical ciprofloxacin impregnated with steroids with no mortality recorded in our study.

Effect of Marketing Strategies on the Performance of Agribusinesses in North-Central, Nigeria

This study investigates the influence of distinct marketing strategies—product, promotion, price, and place strategies—on the performance of agribusinesses in the North-Central region of Nigeria. Leveraging a sample size of 338 from a population of 2,216 registered agribusinesses across five selected states, a cross-sectional survey design was employed to analyze the relationships between the chosen independent variables and critical performance indicators namely; profit, sales volume, market share, and customer loyalty. The results from four regression models underscore the degree of impacts of marketing strategies on performance metrics. Notably, promotion and place strategies emerge as significant drivers of increased sales volume and enhanced customer loyalty, respectively. Conversely, product strategy exhibits a minimal effect on profit, while price strategy strongly influences market share. These findings offer actionable insights for agribusiness practitioners and policymakers to optimize their marketing approaches for improved performance and sustainable performance in the agribusiness sector.

Rising prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus and its associated risk factors in Makurdi, North-Central Region of Nigeria.

The disease burden of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in sub-Saharan African region have been on the rise. Proper assessment of current prevalence of GDM may inform policy changes and management approach for improved care delivery. To determine the current prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and evaluate its major risk factors amongst pregnant women in Makurdi, North-Central Nigeria. This was a multi-center hospital-based prospective observational study. Maternal characteristics and clinical risk factors for GDM in a cohort of 281 pregnant women at 9 to 16 weeks gestational age was evaluated. The one-step 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was carried out at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation. Of the 356 women recruited, 281 (79.8%) completed the study. The GDM prevalence in the cohort was 16.7%. Increased early pregnancy BMI (adjusted OR = 1.154, 95% CI = 1.080 - 1.233, p<0.001) and presence of family history of diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR = 0.482, 95% CI = 0.233 - 0.997, P<0.05) were independent risk factors for GDM in the cohort. Increasing maternal age and early pregnancy BMI amongst other possible reasons, may account for the rising prevalence of GDM in the region.

Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Migration and Food Security of North Central Region, Nigeria

Food security is adversely affected by challenges posed by changes in land use and land cover (LULC). LULC change impacts ecosystem functions and services, leading to migration of people, particularly rural dwellers. This paper uses multispectral satellite remote sensing, net migration data, household survey, stakeholders’ meetings, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), expert interviews and yields and estimated land mass of maize, rice, groundnut, cassava, and yam to assess the extent of LULC in Niger, Kwara, and Benue states of North Central Region of Nigeria and their relevance for migration and food security. Remote sensing data for 1990, 2000, 2013, and 2020 were extracted from Landsat imageries to obtain LULC change. Household survey was conducted to validate the data obtained from Landsat imageries. The results of LULC between 1990 and 2020 show that most of the vegetation, agricultural land, and water body areas in Kwara and Benue States have been converted to built-up areas and barren land, while an increase in agricultural land and built-up areas was observed in Niger State. Our household survey, stakeholders’ meetings, and interviews showed that there was a continuous massive migration of people, particularly young farmers, to cities leaving most of the existing agricultural lands uncultivated. This was due to the losses in agricultural land and conversion of some of the other LULC classes to barren land. We conclude that if this permanent migration remains uncontrolled, it will have significantly negative future impacts on food security of Nigeria. It is recommended that the government and its sub-ordinary administrative entities invest in more reliable infrastructure and attractive living environment for the rural dwellers to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration in the study areas.

Monitoring the Status of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases in Non-Endemic Implementation Units: A Case Study of Borgu in Northcentral Nigeria.

Nigeria remains the most endemic country in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH). In line with ongoing monitoring plans, we present findings from a recent analysis of STH epidemiological data in Borgu, one of the non-endemic implementation units for STH in the northcentral region of Nigeria. An overall prevalence of 8.8% was recorded for STH infection, which corresponds to a 51.9% decline from the 18.3% reported in 2013. All the infected participants (36 out of 410) had a low intensity of infection. However, more than two-thirds (69%) of the children do not have access to latrine facilities, and 45% of them walk barefoot. Prevalence was significantly associated with community, age, and parental occupation. About 21-25% reduced odds were reported in some of the study communities, and children whose parents were traders had 20 times lower odds of infection compared to those whose parents were farmers. The ongoing preventive chemotherapy program for lymphatic filariasis in the area could be responsible for the huge reduction in prevalence and intensity estimates for STH. It is therefore important to invest in monitoring transmission dynamics in other non-endemic areas to arrest emerging threats through the provision of complementary interventions including WASH facilities and other health educational tools.

Qualitative Analysis of Teachers Perception on Head Teacher Leadership and Administrative Roles in Schools

Leadership is a process where an individual such as head teacher influence teachers and students to achieve common objectives. The increasing challenges of mismanagement which is culminating to poor academic performance and inadequate resources in spite of huge budget on education yearly has made the imperative to examine the head teacher leadership and administrative role in schools. In view of this, the study implemented qualitative research design approach and interpretative perspective to adequately investigate perceptions of teachers regarding roles of head teachers for improvement of schools in Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to conduct series of in-depth interviews, with 16 teachers selected from four schools in north central region of Nigeria. Interview data were analyzed thematically using Nvivo 12 qualitative software. Therefore, based on findings of this study, it was discovered that mentoring and interactive roles play a great part. Also, general theme which indicated the need for head teacher to be conscious of his role in creating enabling environment for both staff and students emerged. Within the themes, it was discovered that school positive culture, reward and praise are sources of motivation for teachers. Consequently, it is recommended that head teacher should maintain open and continuous communication link with teachers and students. In addition to these findings, there is urgent need for head teacher to always ensure reward and recognition which have been identified to be vital to maximum performance of teachers’ and students. Finally, it is concluded that head teacher leadership and administrative roles remains fundamental importance for continuous improvement of schools in north central region of Nigeria.

Symbol in African Religion and Philosophy: the Tiv Experience

Tiv religion is a traditional religion of the people of Benue State, located in the middle belt of the North Central region of Nigeria. This religion is a unique religion because the religion and the people of this region are exclusively peculiar only to the region. Symbols are basic phenomena in the Tiv religion. Tiv people religion, culture and symbols are synonymous and characteristically outstanding in the Nigerian culture. Symbolism is thus a special feature of its religion for it put them on the world map of culture, religion and tradition. Therefore, symbols play a pivotal role in the transmission, interaction, information dissemination and the interplay between the Tiv people and culture, and it culminates in physical and the spiritual world interaction. In other words, it is the thought process of communication between the physical and metaphysical realms. It creates a link between the finite and the infinite. It serves as a character molding agent, and is an agent of supernatural policing and enforcement of punishment. It also guarantees moral conduct and ethos in the society in which it operates. Its various symbolic arts and expressions symbolizes the present and offer some evidence of divine agencies. It therefore connotes an intertwining of both the spirit and physical realms. It is the evidence of the expression of divine injunctions, codes and ethics, and a mode to reprimand actions as well as serving as an agent of deterrence in the society. The role of the Tiv religion and philosophy cannot be over emphasized. The paper employed a literary descriptive method since the research is qualitative in nature.

Impact of the Preliminary Education Policy on North Central Region of Nigeria Primary School System

The study was carried out to investigate the impact of the preliminary education policy on the primary school system of the North Central region of Nigeria. The study aimed to advance the understanding of the perceived impact of preliminary education policy implementation on the primary school system. The research question focused on the perception of key stakeholders’ that could improve the full participation and facilitate the establishment of more quality primary schools in the region. A case study was employed with a purposeful sample of 16 semi-structured interviews which included combination of parents or guardians, preschool heads, primary school principals, and officials from the region. Themes were extracted through descriptive coding regarding the preschool education policy’s perceived strengths and opportunities for improvement from collected data transcripts. The emergent themes from the study included equality and social justice, education for all, and school readiness for next level. The results point to the need for collaboration and active participation of all key stakeholders towards effective preliminary education policy implementation.

Characteristics of VHF Line-Of-Sight Propagation for Point-To-Area Network in A Tropical Atmosphere

This paper investigates the degree of influence of weather and the environment on radio signal propagation between a Very High Frequency (VHF) band transmitter and a receiver in the North Central region of Nigeria. Signal strength measurements were made from a Frequency Modulation (FM) station broadcasting at 100.5 MHz using a digital signal level meter. The results obtained showed that received signal strength (RSS) values were higher during the wet season with average values ranging between 41 dBμV and 50 dBμV as compared to lower values of between 36 dBμV and 48 dBμV recorded during the dry season. The computed radio refractivity revealed similar trend of low dry season values in the range of 291 N-units to 345 N-units and high wet season values ranging between 350 N-units and 363 N-units. Also, the cumulative frequency distribution of the signal level computed showed that 50 dBμV had the highest number of samples, while 60 dBμV and 70 dBμV recorded the lowest number of samples. In addition, dry season values of attenuation deduced ranged between 1.6 dB and 2.8 dB, while average wet season attenuation values vary from 1.4 dB to 2.3 dB. Finally, the RSS was modeled using ITU-R P.526-12 to predict losses due to diffraction over the earth’s curvature, and the results obtained revealed that the model underestimated the RSS for the radio link.

Effect of Female Entrepreneurial Experience on Start-Ups of Educational Institutions: An Empirical Study of North-Central Nigeria

This study evinced the cruciality of female entrepreneurial experience as a gainful propeller of start-up educational institutions in North-Central Nigeria. The focal aim of this study is to ascertain the effect of female entrepreneurial experience on start-ups specifically in the educational sector, which over the years recorded a tremendous influx of female entrepreneurs. A descriptive research design was adopted as the framework for this study and the population of the study comprised 43,470 female educators within the North-Central region of Nigeria. The Cochran sample size determination technique was used to obtain the sample size of 385 respondents. Bowley's allocation formula was adopted to determine the sample size of each North-Central state while simple random and purposive sampling was used to select participants. The questionnaires were structured in a 5-point Likert scale as a validity and reliability test was conducted to ensure their credibility. Data retrieved were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics via the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 statistical tool. The results of the regression analysis validated the data at a 0.05 significance level. The findings revealed that socio-cultural expectations, exceptional economic support, social networking, innovation, and self-efficacy have a significant effect on the growth of educational institutions in North-Central Nigeria. Hence the study concludes that female entrepreneurial experience adversely affects the growth of educational institutions and start-ups in North-Central Nigeria. The study recommends that good government policies geared towards equal support of female entrepreneurs as endorsed by the liberal view of the feminist-based entrepreneurship theory.

ANTINOCICEPTIVE PROPERTIES OF LEAF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF CROSSOPTERYX FEBRIFUGA (AFZEL. EX G. DON) BENTH

Nociceptive pain is a sensational discomfort that is usually associated with injury or illness found affecting the body either internally or externally. Crossopteryx febrifuga is one of the medicinal plants which are locally used in the management of pain especially in the North Central Region of Nigeria. Many conventional drugs which are being applied in managing pain aside being not affordable and readily accessible by the majority of people at rural areas have one side effect or the other. Therefore, this research was conducted to evaluate the potentiality of aqueous extract of C. febrifuga in alleviating pain in Wistar rats. The study was carried out using acetic acid induced writhing and Edson hot plate methods. On acetic acid induced pain, the aqueous extract at 50 and 100 mg/kg inhibited pain significantly by reducing the number of writhing by average of 3.9 per minute while at 200 mg/kg, the extract reduced pain by reducing the number of writhing by average of 4.2 per minute. Similarly, the extract at all doses administered in hot plate induced method inhibited pain by increasing the time the rats took to jump off the hot plate. The data obtained from the analgesic study of C. febrifuga aqueous extract suggests that it has anti-nociceptive property as evident in both models. This, therefore revealed that the plant leaf aqueous extract possessed both the peripherally and centrally mediated analgesic properties. For this reason, the plant leaf could be a potential antinociceptive agent if subjected to clinical trial and proved

Assessment of Factors Affecting Contractors Tendering Success for Construction Projects in North-Central Nigeria

The challenge of construction tendering process is a common theme in developing countries especially Nigeria. Tendering process is often tedious, multitasking and complex. Contractors have the responsibility of tendering appropriately for construction projects; and clients as well as consultants have a duty to create an enabling platform for a successful tendering process. This study examines the factors affecting contractors tendering success for construction projects in North-Central Nigeria with an aim to harmonizing the perception of the construction professionals. Semi-structured questionnaires comprising of fifty-five (55) questions retrieved from literature were categorized into six (6) groups which are project characteristics, business benefits, capabilities, bidding situation, client related factors and external environment related factors. The data were retrieved from 299 respondents out of 384 respondents requisite for this study. Frequency, Percentile and Mean Index Score (MIS) were used to analyze the responses. Results indicated a level of agreement among the stakeholders on the top eleven (11) contractors tendering success factors and concludes that expansion of organization expertise, tendering capabilities, flexibility for changes and variations, number of competitors, project difficulties, design constructability, project methodology, tender document detailing, client reputation, involvement of other parties and political consideration to be the top factors affecting contractors tendering success. The practical implication of this is that, there is a broader understanding of the topmost factors affecting contractors tendering success among the stakeholders within the North-Central region of Nigeria. The study recommended that reasonably sufficient time should be given to examine project characteristic in order for the contractors to assess their suitability for every construction projects they intend to tender for. Furthermore, construction design approach, bidding process and project methodology should be properly delineated to all the stakeholders by the client to eliminate vagueness in the tendering process and subsequently, project delivery process.

Study of Seasonal Surface Refractivity over North-Central Nigeria

Tropospheric radio wave signals experience loss due to multipath effect, scattering and other forms of attenuation through the atmospheric medium, primarily due to variations in weather conditions with time. The knowledge of surface refractivity profile is important for optimal planning of Very High Frequency/Ultra High Frequency (VHF/UHF) terrestrial radio links in a region. The study of surface refractivity (Ns) over the North-Central Nigeria was carried out using meteorological data from seven locations in North-Central zone of Nigeria. The seasonal variations of Ns were also derived using the monthly summaries of surface data obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) over seven stations of Abuja, Lafia, Lokoja, Makurdi, Jos, Minna and Ilorin between 2005 and 2010.The results indicated that the monthly averages of radio refractivity during the rainy season months (April to October) are greater than the Ns values during the dry season months (November to March) for all the locations throughout the years of the study. The computed of mean monthly Ns over all the seven stations in the first 1 km above the ground level is 348 N-units, which gives mean refractivity gradient (dN/dh) of -49 N/k, these shows that the region is characterised by low scale super-refraction. The mean k-factor over the entire region in the first 1 km above the ground level is 1.4; the mean Field Strength Variability (FSV) in first 1 km of height in the region was calculated to be 14 dB. The mean Radio Horizon distance within 1 km height for a transmitter height of 100 m over the stations is 42 km. The results provide useful information needed by radio engineers to set up new terrestrial radio propagation links or to improve on the existing ones especially at VHF, UHF in the North-Central region of Nigeria, as recommended by International Telecommunication Union Recommendations (ITU-R P.453, 2013), which observed the need for local reference data on refractivity and refractivity gradients all over the world.

Evaluation of infection prevention and control practices in Lassa fever treatment centers in north-central Nigeria during an ongoing Lassa fever outbreak.

Outbreaks of Lassa fever (LF) in Nigeria have become more frequent, with increasing more healthcare worker infections. Prevention of infection is dependent on strict compliance to infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in treatment centres where patients are managed. To evaluate IPC practices during an ongoing LF outbreak in the two major tertiary hospitals serving as the referral LF treatment centres in the north-central region of Nigeria. This cross-sectional survey was carried out by the IPC subteam of the National Rapid Response Team of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) deployed to Plateau State, north-central Nigeria during the 2019 LF outbreak. Information on IPC in these facilities was collected using the NCDC viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) isolation and treatment facility IPC survey tool. Both treatment centres had national VHF IPC isolation guidelines and few health workers had received IPC training. In both centres, there were no clearly demarcated entry points for staff going into clinical areas after putting on personal protective equipment, and there were also no standard operating procedures in place for reporting occupational exposure of staff to infected blood or body fluids in both centres. The LF treatment centers located in Plateau State during the 2019 LF outbreak were not fully implementing the national VHF IPC guidelines. Periodic assessments of IPC are recommended for proper management of cases and effective control of LF in the State.

Assessment of status and distribution of available micronutrients in soils under different land uses of savannah North Central Region of Nigeria

This study examines the availability of micronutrients under different land uses: natural vegetation, tree plantations (orange and cashew) and arable crops (maize and guinea corn). Available zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) were analysed in one hundred and fifty (150) randomly selected soil samples. Iron at the topsoil and subsoil under tree plantations and natural vegetation was rated marginal, under arable crops it was marginal at topsoil and deficient at subsoil. Available Mn and Zn at the topsoil and subsoil was adequate under all the land uses, with the exception of maize which fell under marginal ranking at topsoil. Copper was rated deficient under arable crops and orange, marginal under cashew, while natural vegetation was marginal at subsoil and adequate at topsoil. The results revealed that arable crops unlike tree plantations statistically differed on all occasions when their mean scores were compared with those of the natural vegetation. Copper-enriched inorganic fertilizers should be used by farmers. Monitoring of soil nutrients should be carried out regularly, in order to improve upon sustainable farming.

Impact of pastoralists-farmers’ conflicts on agroforestry farmers’ psychology and agricultural production in north central Nigeria

The study examined the escalating conflict between the farmers and the pastoralists in the North Central region of Nigeria with regard to its impact on the psychology and productivity of agroforestry farmers. Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states were reported to be the most affected by farmer- pastoralist conflicts in North Central Nigeria, they were therefore purposively selected for the study. The local governments that are most affected by the conflicts were also selected in each state. 25% of agroforestry farmers in each of the selected local government were randomly selected for the study. A total of one hundred and eighty (180) well-structured questionnaires were administered to farmers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage while the correlation coefficient (r) was used to draw inferences between the variables of the hypotheses. The study found out that 29% of the respondents were between the ages of 31-40, 75.6% were male, 69.8% were married, 37.2% had secondary education and majority of them (83.8%) were Christians. Also, 67.8% of them take farming as their main occupation. 40% of them has 6-10 acres of farm size. The Spearman’s rho correlation analysis revealed that demographics characteristics [age (r= -0.341; p= 0.000) education status (r= 0.200; p= 0.008) and household size (r= 0.151; p= 0.042)] of the respondents significantly correlated with the impact the conflict had on respondents’ psychology. The correlation coefficient (R)) showed that frequency of conflict is significantly related to respondents’ agricultural loss (r=0.183; p=0.025) and that the conflicts impact on respondents’ psychology is significantly correlated with their agricultural productiity (r=0.1357; p=0.034).

Prevalence of Malaria among Patients Attending Primary Health Care Clinic Garaku, Nasarawa State, North Central Region of Nigeria

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria parasite infection (MPI) among patients attending Primary Health Care clinic (PHC) at Garaku, Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State North Central Nigeria. A formal consent was issued by the Nasarawa State Hospital management Board to conduct the study. A studypopulation size of150 consenting, apparently healthy, males and females who had attended the Primary Health Care clinic situated at Garaku, Kokona Local, Government of Nasarawa State, for medical treatment, were recruited for the study. The study took place between the month of May 2019 and September 2019. The socio-demographic features of each participant were verbally obtained, and included sex, age, occupational and educational statuses. The gold standard tool (microscopy) was relied upon to determine the prevalence of malaria infection among the subjects. Blood samples collected from patients were Giemsa stained and microscopically examined for malaria parasites. Analysis of the samples revealed malaria prevalence of 53.3 %among the sampled population. Further analysis onmalaria prevalence with respect to factors such as age, educational and occupational status revealed that malaria infection was more prevalent among the civil servants (75%), followed by the elderly (71.4%), and followed by the educated (73.3%) in the population. In conclusion, the study established that women, civil servants, the elderly, and the least educated were more vulnerable to malaria infection within the study location

Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility and Patronage of Non-interest Cooperative Societies in North-central, Nigeria

Purpose: This study interrogates the extent of implementation of economic and philanthropic dimensions of the Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility (ICSR) concept by Shar¯ı‘ah based cooperative societies with the primary purpose of ascertaining its effect on members’ rate of patronage of non-interest cooperative societies in Nigeria. Methodology: Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLSSEM) with bootstrap processes were used to analyse the data collected from 210 members of the selected non-interest cooperative societies operating in the North-central region of Nigeria. Findings: The study’s results revealed that h. al¯al products and h.al¯al investments positively affect the members’ patronage rate of non-interest cooperative societies. In addition, it was discovered that Islamic philanthropic responsibility influenced the image/reputations of non-interest cooperative societies. Significance: This study is among the few studies that have examined the effect of corporate social responsibility on members’ patronage from an Islamic perspective. The import of the study stems from the fact that it broadly investigated the extent of implementation out of the six dimensions of corporate social responsibility. Limitations: The main constraints of the study are predicated on the fact that it was conducted in a region of the country and the study’s inability to isolate other factors which might have contributed to members’ patronage of non-interest cooperative societies. Implications: The study’s findings can aid the management of noninterest cooperative societies and other similar institutions in formulating strategic policies and programmes geared towards operating and promoting h.al¯al investment opportunities and supporting the indigent members of the communities through corporate charities/donations.

MODELLING THE DETERMINANTS OF UNDER-FIVE CHILD MORTALITY RATES USING COX PROPORTIONAL HAZARDS REGRESSION MODEL

An under-five childhood mortality rates in Nigeria is still high, despite efforts of government at all levels to combat the menace. This study examined some factors that significantly affect under-five child mortality. A sample of mothers with children under the age of five from Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data (NDHS, 2013 &amp; 2018) was used to assess the effect of some selected predictor variables (or covariates) on childhood survival. Cox proportional hazards model is essentially a regression model popularly used for investigating the association between the survival time and one or more predictor variables. The results from final fitted Cox proportional hazards regression model that the covariates, contraceptive used by the mother, state of residence, birth weight of child and type of toilet facility used by the h-ousehold were found to be significantly associated with under-five survival in the North Central Region of Nigeria. All the calculations are performed using the R software for statistical analysis.

PREVALENCE OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORSIN SEMI-URBAN COMMUNITIES OF NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA

Background:Several studies have estimated the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors (CRFs) in various communities in Nigeria. However, few have investigated the prevalence patterns in semi-urban communitiesof North-Central Nigeria. We aim to determine the prevalence patterns of CRFs in this geographical location, as a result of the growing incidence of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) and Heart Failure (HF) in Nigeria. Methods:A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted. The study was conducted across nine (9) local government councils in the southern part of Benue state, one of the six (6) states that make up the North-Central region of Nigeria. Overall, 108 participants aged &gt; 18 years participated in the study. Risk factors were estimated by collecting information about the participants age, weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol,HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose. Questionnaires, results of laboratory and instrumental diagnosis were used to collect information about the variables. Results:The overall mean of age was 50.35 ± 22.02 years. Findings showed that the prevalence of the examined cardiovascular disease risk factors was as follows: hypertension – 55(52.4%), generalized obesity (BMI &gt; 30) – 10(9.26%)abdominal obesity –35 (32.4%) diabetes –9 (8.3%), hypercholesterolemia – 17(15.7%). The result also indicated an increase in the prevalence of hypertension with an increase in age the indices of obesity increased significantly with age but later decreased slightly among the elderly. Conclusion:Findings from the study revealed that about half of the population were hypertensive. Other key risk factors were also prevalent in this population. There is a call on relevant stakeholders for important preventive and control initiatives for awareness, as this population is at high risk of the complications that arise from the underlying disease conditions.