ABSTRACT
Our survey in Cameroon recorded obesity and dysglycemia in inhabitants, which are similar to those reported elsewhere in the region. Typically these metabolic disturbances are attributed to the adoption of a new urban lifestyle including diminished physical activity and an altered ('Western') diet. Unexpectedly we found that, like urban populations, our rural population had high rates of metabolic disturbances, despite living in villages and being physically active and consuming traditional diet that is high in plant sources of food and low in meat. From our preliminary study, we raise the possibility that the environmental elements that are driving the pandemic of obesity and diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa are far more complex than heretofore appreciated.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology , Glucose Intolerance/epidemiology , Obesity/epidemiology , Urban Population/statistics & numerical data , Africa South of the Sahara/epidemiology , Blood Glucose/metabolism , Body Mass Index , Cameroon/epidemiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology , Diabetes Complications/epidemiology , Diabetes Mellitus/genetics , Diabetic Angiopathies/epidemiology , Exercise , Female , Humans , Life Style , Male , Middle Aged , Obesity/genetics , Reference Values , Waist CircumferenceABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We prospectively evaluated the efficacy of hyaluronic acid (HA) as an adjuvant treatment to hasten the improvement of nasal respiration and to minimize patients' discomfort in the postoperative radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction (RFVTR) of inferior turbinates. METHODS: We enrolled 57 patients randomly assigned into two groups, HA (22 patients) and saline group (35 patients), which received isotonic saline nasal irrigation. We used the monopolar device somnoplasty for all patients. Visual analogic scale (VAS) and nasal endoscopy were used to assess the outcomes of the treatments during the 1st month of follow-up. RESULTS: The mean VAS score of the HA group at the 1st week was significantly lower than the control group (3.36 ± 1.89 versus 6.95 ± 1.52; p < 0.05). The VAS score remained significantly lower in the HA group also at the 2nd week (3.43 ± 1.27 versus 5.75±1.39; p < 0.05), becoming similar to the control group at the 4th week (p = ns). Since the first visit the HA group also showed significantly lower crust score than the saline group (p < 0.05), and there was no crust found in either group at the last visit. The compliance to treatment was similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: The results of this prospective study suggest a role of HA as a supportive treatment for faster improvement of nasal respiration, also minimizing patients' discomfort in postoperative nasal surgery, promoting nasal mucosa healing in postoperative RFVTR for inferior turbinate hypertrophy.