Correlates of haemoglobin level in mothers of children under two years in Nanton district: A cross-sectional study from Ghana.

Objectives: Anaemia, defined using haemoglobin level, is one of the most prevalent nutritional deficiency diseases among women of childbearing age. Whilst most studies of anaemia were conducted on pregnant women, data are lacking on the haemoglobin level and its correlates of mothers in Ghana. In this paper, we report data on the correlates of haemoglobin level among mothers in Nanton district, Northern Region, Ghana. Method: A cross-sectional study design was used to study 420 mothers of children under 2 years selected randomly from the child welfare clinics (CWCs) of five health facilities in Nanton District, Ghana. Women were interviewed on their socio-demographic characteristics, dietary practices, reproductive history, and knowledge on anaemia using a structured questionnaire in health facilities. Haemoglobin values during pregnancy were retrieved from antenatal clinic files whilst finger-pricked blood test samples were obtained and used to determine haemoglobin levels during the survey. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the correlates of haemoglobin level of the mothers. Results: The mean age (±SD) and parity of the subjects were 29.4 (±6.36) years, and 3.36 (±1.78) respectively. The mean haemoglobin (±SD) was 10.35 (±2.17) g/dl and 56.0% of the subjects had anaemia. Multivariable regression analysis identified 12 haemoglobin correlates, but based on standardized regression coefficients, the seven most important correlates of haemoglobin were: parity (ß = -0.396), age (ß = 0.352), having malaria infection postpartum (ß = - 0.340), frequency of fruit consumption (once weekly, ß = 0.322), frequency of vegetable consumption (twice weekly, ß = 0.296), overall index of anaemia knowledge (richest tertile, ß = 0.125), and CWC attendance (ß = 0.110). It is recommended to strengthen family planning and malaria prevention programmes, and to intensify education on fruit and vegetable consumption, and anaemia.

Serum vitamin E deficiency among people living with HIV and undergoing antiretroviral therapy at Ho Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that helps to counteract oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress is known to greatly affect people living with HIV (PLWH) through the stimulation of HIV replication and apoptosis of CD4+ T cells. There is however, a paucity of scientific data on the serum levels of vitamin E among PLWH in Ghana, and hence, there is a need to assess its level because of the pivotal role it plays in cell longevity determination and the immune system enhancement of such persons. This study aims to assess the serum levels of vitamin E among PLWH undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy at Ho Teaching Hospital, Ghana. In a cross-sectional study, serum vitamin E levels of 103 randomly selected PLWH aged 24-88 years who attended an antiretroviral therapy clinic at the Ho Teaching Hospital, Ghana, were measured by following standard protocols. A 24-hour dietary recall and food frequency questionnaire were employed to assess dietary intake. The results show that a high level of serum vitamin E deficiency (82.5%) was observed among the participants. Majority (91.3%) of the participants had normal serum zinc status. Participants' serum vitamin E levels did not show significant correlation with their dietary intakes (correlation coefficient (ρ) = -0.094, p-value = 0.35). The prevalence of vitamin E deficiency among underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese participants was 91.7%, 75.4%, 86.5%, and 91.7% respectively with no significant difference among these groups. There was no significant correlation between serum vitamin E levels and HIV infection duration (ρ = 0.010, p-value = 0.405) and HAART duration (ρ = 0.001, p-value = 0.313). The low serum vitamin E levels found in this study suggests that the participants could potentially be at an increased risk of developing oxidative stress and its effects.

Physical fitness and cognitive function among school-aged children in selected basic schools in the Ho Municipality of Ghana.

Physical fitness is thought to promote cognitive function. Evidence about this is however lacking in the Ghanaian context. This study aimed to investigate the association between physical fitness and cognitive function among basic school children aged 8-13 years. A cross-sectional study involving 591 school children, recruited from 12 randomly selected public and private basic schools was conducted. Physical fitness tests were done using a five-test battery (Fifty metre run, handgrip strength, sit-up, flexibility and standing board jump) following standardized procedures. Cognitive function test using the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) were carried out. More girls (55%), children from 8-13 years old (49.1%) and public school children (66.1%) participated in the study. For fitness, boys performed better than girls in sit ups 3.4 ± 2.2 (mean ± SD), p = 0.012, handgrip 4.3 ± 2.0, p = 0.001 and overall fitness 4.3 ± 2.0, p = 0.007. Children in public schools performed significantly better in forward jump (p < 0.001) while those in private schools did better in 50m run (p < 0.001). For cognition, 46.1% of participants had less than 50% of the total score. Cognitive test score varied for forward jump and handgrip alone and not for sit ups, 50m run and overall score. Mean forward jump score was lowest in poor cognition group (4.9 ± 2.3), followed by good (5.3 ± 2.2) and highest among excellent (5.5 ± 2.3, p = 0.044) cognition group. Similar observation was made for handgrip. Cognition score and hand grip strength were positively but weakly correlated. (r = 0.132, p = 0.026). Although handgrip strength (measuring muscular strength) was significantly associated with cognitive function, this study found no significant association between overall physical fitness and cognitive function. These results indicate that only some components of physical fitness may be associated with cognitive function. This study is however correlational and one cannot infer causality.

Maternal mid-upper arm circumference during pregnancy and linear growth among Cambodian infants during the first months of life.

Stunting prevalence among children under 5 years remains high in Cambodia, affecting about one-third of children. In most low- and middle-income countries, linear growth faltering of young children starts in the womb. The 1,000-days window of opportunity to improve child nutritional status includes pregnancy, as maternal nutritional status is an important determinant of birthweight and child development. In Cambodia, nutritional status of pregnant women is poor, with some studies reporting >20% of pregnant women having a low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC < 23 cm). Few studies have investigated associations between maternal nutritional status during pregnancy and neonatal growth. Using data from a Cambodian cohort study conducted from 2016 through 2018 in selected districts of Phnom Penh, Kratie, and Ratanakiri provinces, we investigated associations between maternal MUAC during pregnancy as indicator of maternal nutritional status and their offspring linear growth during early life. Multivariate regression models were used to assess the associations between maternal MUAC during the last trimester of pregnancy and infant's length-for-age z-scores during the first 3.5 months of life. Maternal MUAC was significantly associated with infant's length-for-age z-scores (regression coefficient 0.06, 95% CI [0.03, 0.09]). Infants born from mothers with a low MUAC during pregnancy had a 1.6 times higher risk (odds ratio 1.621, 95% CI [0.998, 2.636]) of being stunted during the first 3.5 months of life compared with infants born from mothers with a MUAC >23 cm. This study underlines the importance of optimum maternal MUAC during pregnancy for optimal infant growth. Interventions that aim to tackle stunting in infants should integrate improving maternal MUAC during pregnancy.

Tenofovir-Based Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Is Associated with Superior CD4 T Cells Repopulation Compared to Zidovudine-Based HAART in HIV 1 Infected Adults.

Tenofovir-based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is one of the preferred first-line therapies in the management of HIV 1 infection. Ghana has since 2014 adopted this recommendation; however there is paucity of scientific data that reflects the safety and efficacy of the tenofovir-based therapy compared to zidovudine in the Ghanaian health system. This study sought to assess the comparative immune reconstitution potential between tenofovir and zidovudine-based HAART regimens, which includes lamivudine and efavirenz in combination therapy. It also aimed to investigate the adverse drug reactions/events (ADREs) associated with pharmacotherapy with these agents in a total of 106 HAART naïve HIV patients. The study included 80 patients in the tenofovir cohort while 26 patients were on the zidovudine regimen. The occurrence of HIV comorbidities profile was assessed at diagnosis and throughout the study period. The baseline CD4 T cells count of the participants was also assessed at diagnosis and repeated at a median period of five months (range 4-6 months), after commencing treatment with either tenofovir- or zidovudine-based HAART. After five months of the HAART, the tenofovir cohort recorded higher CD4 T cell count change from baseline compared to the zidovudine cohort (p < 0.0001). The patients on the tenofovir-based HAART and female sex however appeared to be associated with more multiple ADREs.