Cardiovascular risk factors in middle aged Nigerians

Abstract

Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) contributes very little to mortality figures in Nigerians. In this study of 146 middle aged Nigerians (110 males and 36 females) aged 50-54 years, the cardiovascular risk factors of smoking, alcohol ingestion, history of diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension and high serum total cholesterol were assessed seeking to confirm the postulated reason for the low prevalence rate of IHD. Prevalence of the risk factors in this random sample population in males and females were as follows respectively: cigarettes 0%; alcohol intake 5.4% in males, 2.8% in females; self reported diabetes 1.8%, 2.8%; obesity 21%, 28%; hypertension 16.4%, 25% and cholesterol > 200 mg/d 6.4%, 13.9%. None of the subjects smoked more than 10 cigarettes a day. Multiple risk factors occurred infrequently in individual subjects. Only five men (4.5%) exhibited two risk factors and only one (0.9%) exhibited three risk factors apart from the gender. Of particular relevance, mean total cholesterol was 148.7 mg/dL (SD +/- 37.9) for the entire group, 143.5 mg/d (SD +/- 36.0) for men, and 153.6 mg/dl (SD +/- 35.3) for women. In the whole group, mean total cholesterol was higher in the hypertensive than the normotensive subjects (P < 0.05). Compared to similar age population from Japan and the United States, the prevalence of the risk factors was generally low. Attention should be on controlling obesity, hypertension and the diet to keep the prevalence low.