ABSTRACT
Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is widely acknowledged globally as a violation of the fundamental human rights of girls and women. FGM is still widely practiced in Nigeria but at diminishing rates. Primary care physicians must educate and campaign to end this hazardous practice in Nigeria, especially in high-incidence areas. This study fills the knowledge gap by identifying FGM determinants to help policymakers reduce it. Method: The study employed a retrospective cross-sectional design using data from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund for 2011, 2016-2017, and 2021. The sampling involved multistage cluster sampling. Data analysis utilized IBM-SPSS, presenting FGM prevalence across years and exploring associations with various factors. Results: This study analyzed 63,365 Nigerian women across a decade (2011, 2016-2017, and 2021). FGM awareness fluctuated (35.1% in 2016-2017, 33.0% in 2011, and 31.9% in 2021), while FGM prevalence increased from 46.6% (2011) to 69.5% (2021). Education correlated with lower FGM prevalence. Geographic disparities were observed, with the Southwest having the highest (70.1%) and the Northeast having the lowest (34.5%) prevalence. Religion influenced FGM rates, with Christians (54.2%) and those with other/no religion (58.0%) showing higher rates than Muslims (52.6%). Urban women had a slightly lower prevalence (52.6%) than rural women (54.2%), and wealth quintiles displayed variations. Variability was also evident among states, ranging from 2.0% to 86.3%. Daughters' circumcision was influenced by maternal circumcision status, education, region, religion, and wealth quintile. Common FGM procedures involved removing genital flesh (63.7%) and nicking without removal (55.1%), often performed by nurses/midwives (63.7%). Conclusion: The study emphasized the urgent need for continuous awareness campaigns and education to combat FGM among Nigerian women. Education emerged as a critical factor in reducing FGM, highlighting the importance of investing in girls' education.
ABSTRACT
Background: HIV and malaria interact at the level of the host's susceptibility to infection, but little is known about the effect of HIV on malaria infection in Nigeria. Objective: This study estimated the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and its relationship with HIV immunodeficiency. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals in Abuja, Nigeria between October 2012 and March 2013 among 600 respondents, comprising 200 HIV-negative controls, 200 HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 200 HIV-positive patients not on ART. Malaria parasites, malaria density and absolute CD4 counts were carried out on all three groups. Participants with CD4 counts below 350 cells/mm3 were considered immunocompromised and likely to develop opportunistic infections. Results: Most study participants were aged 21-40 years (65.2%). The mean CD4 counts of HIV-positive patients not on ART (300 ± 211 cells/mm3) and those on ART (354 cells/mm3) were significantly lower than among controls (834 cells/mm3) (p < 0.001). Malaria prevalence was not statistically different between the controls (44.5%), patients on ART (40.5%), and those not on ART (39.5%) (p = 0.562). Compared to 7% immunodeficiency among controls, 56% of patients on ART and 65.5% of those not on ART had a CD4 count < 350 cells/mm3 (p < 0.001). The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among immunodeficient individuals (42.4%) was similar to prevalence among those with CD4 counts > 350 cells/mm3 (40.8%; p = 0.695). Conclusion: These findings suggest that malaria parasitaemia is not an opportunistic infection among HIV-positive individuals in Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Childhood obesity has risen dramatically in the last four decades. Childhood obesity is likely to continue through adulthood and increases the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life. AIMS: This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and perception of the secondary school students in Ikeja local government, Lagos state towards the risk factors of overweight and obesity. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using a structured questionnaire administered on consenting participants. The completed questionnaires collected from the participants was then analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 6.6% and 1.4%. Overall knowledge (<50%) of students regarding the risk factors of overweight and obesity was very low. Majority of the students (97.4%) do daily exercise, 48.4% spend at least 30 minutes doing exercise daily. However, 62.0% watching television, 18.7% play video games, and 35.8% sleep for more than 8 hours daily. Participants also showed negative perception towards the effects of overweight and obesity. There was a significant association between age, gender, class, and body mass with knowledge, attitude, and perception of respondents towards risk factors and effects of overweight and obesity (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the low prevalence of overweight and obesity, low knowledge, poor attitude and negative perception regarding risk factors of overweight and obesity, the majority of the students perceived regular exercise as an important means of reducing overweight and obesity.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Child pedestrian injuries and fatalities in developing countries continue to increase. We examined child pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the most populated urban agglomeration in Africa in order to develop control measures. METHODS: Two-year prospective study of injured child pedestrians (≤15 years) at the Surgical Emergency Room (SER) to determine demography, vehicles involved, road location, injury mechanism, pre-hospital transport, injury-arrival time, regions injured, injury severity and fatalities was done. RESULTS: Some 226 pedestrians (114 boys and 112 girls) comprising 42 children aged ≤4 years, 91 aged 5-9 years and 93 aged 10-15 years were seen with car collisions (83 pedestrians, 36.7%), motorcycles (76, 33.6%), buses (41, 18.1%), others (15, 6.6%) and 11 undetermined vehicles. Injuries on the highways were 147 (65%); inner-city roads 77 (34.1%) and two undetermined roads. Crossing the road was responsible for 168 (74.3%) pedestrian injuries; while three other mechanisms produced 58 (25.7%) patients. Regions injured were head (42.9%), lower limbs (35.4%) and others (21.7%). Relatives, bystanders and police/ambulance brought 186 (82.3%), 31 (13.7%) and eight (3.5%) children, respectively; and within 6 h (43.4, 11.5 and 2.2%) and after (38.9, 2.2 and 1.3%). Nineteen deaths (10 brought-in-dead, nine SER deaths) occurred; 15 of them girls, 15 had severe head injury, 15 were brought by relatives. However, fatality risks were truck collisions (OR 5.97), female child (OR 4.25), head injury (OR 4.18) and age ≤4 years (OR 3.7). CONCLUSION: The equal sex incidence, worse female fatality despite similar exposure and injury severity with male, deserve further research. Improved pre-hospital and SER care is needed.