A Multicentre Study of Awareness and Practice of Vaccination Against Infectious Diseases Among Haemo-Dialysis Subjects in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies indicate that immunization against vaccine-preventable infectious diseases lowers mortality among Chronic Kidney Disease/dialysis patients and improve their quality of life. However, their knowledge and practice of this appears to be poor in Nigeria and parts of Africa. OBJECTIVES: We set out to determine subjects' awareness of vaccination against preventable infectious diseases and its impact on their participation in vaccination programs. METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional study. Data was collated using questionnaires, laboratory results and dialysis entries and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics19. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-four participants (mean age, 48.26±14.45 years) undergoing maintenance haemodialysis were studied. Sixty-two subjects (50.4%), 15.3% and 16.9% had heard of Hepatitis B Virus, S. pneumoniae and H. influenza virus respectively. Thirty-four (54.6%) of the participants first heard of these infections from sources other than healthcare personnel. Of the three common infections, study participants only received formal counselling on Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection. Majority had never heard of S. pneumoniae or H. influenzae. Seven (5.7%) had completed their HBV immunisation schedule only. Better educated participants were more aware of necessary vaccination against Hepatitis B Virus (p=0.000) S. pneumoniae (p=0.005) and H. influenza virus (p = 0.003). A significantly higher proportion of participants who received health-personnel driven formal education commenced vaccination against Hepatitis B virus (p=0.000). CONCLUSION: Awareness and practice of vaccination against infectious diseases by haemodialysis patients was found to be poor. Defective system and practice of information dissemination by healthcare workers was remarkably contributory.

Glycemic Response in Diabetic Subjects to Biscuits Produced from Blends of Pigeon Pea and Wheat Flour.

This study evaluated the glycemic response to pigeon pea (PP) - wheat flour (WF) composite biscuits by diabetic patients. Biscuits were produced from flour made from the mixture of WF and PP flour in the proportion of 100:0 (100 - PP), 75:25 (75-PP), 50:50 (50-PP), 25:75 (25-PP), and 0:100 (WF), 4.5% ginger was used as flavor. Sensory evaluation revealed that 100-PP (6.54 ± 0.05) had highest acceptability and palatability attributes (p < 0.05). Glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of the biscuits ranged from 100 - PP (41.36 ± 0.30) to CAB (79.89 ± 1.00) and 100-PP (10.57 ± 0.01) to CAB (30.70 ± 0.40), respectively. All the composite biscuits had low GI < 60 and GL < 20. Composite biscuit may suggest a cheap, adequate and safe supplementary diet for diabetic patients.

Study of association between sickle cell trait and renal dysfunction among young adults in South-west Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Although sickle cell disease has become a recognized etiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD), the sickle cell trait (SCT) variant was until recently believed to be a benign carrier state with little or no effect on the health of affected individuals. However, recent studies now appear to suggest an association between SCT and CKD. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to determine the association between SCT (hemoglobin AS) and renal dysfunction among young Nigerian adults. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study among apparently healthy undergraduates of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, southwest Nigeria. Their hemoglobin genotypes were determined using standard alkaline electrophoresis; their blood pressure, anthropometry, serum total cholesterol (TC), creatinine, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were determined. Data analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20 were significant at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Six hundred and two subjects with HbAS (SCT, n = 465) and HbAA (non-SCT, n = 137) were studied. Their age range was 18-30 years with male-to-female ratio 1:3.8. There was no difference in the prevalence of renal dysfunction between SCT and non-SCT subjects (5.1% vs. 5.2%, P = 0.591). There was no increased risk of CKD among subjects with SCT (PR, 0.99 at 95% CI [0.417-2.348]). CONCLUSION: SCT was not associated with increased risk of renal dysfunction among young adults in Nigeria. Further studies are needed to clarify the controversy, especially in Nigeria, with a relatively higher prevalence of SCT.

Modulatory effect of pigeon pea-wheat biscuits on lipid profile, lipid peroxidation level, α-glucosidase, and butyrylcholinesterase activities in type-2 diabetic patients.

This study examined the modulatory effect of pigeon pea-wheat biscuits on lipid profile, lipid peroxidation level, α-glucosidase, and butyrylcholinesterase activities in type-2 diabetic patients. Composite flours were formulated using pigeon pea (PP) and wheat flour (WF) in ratio 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100. Sixty diabetic patients (DP) were treated with biscuit samples and the effect of the biscuits on the serum lipid profile, α-glucosidase, and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities were evaluated. The result revealed that total cholesterol ranged from [100-PP (13.94 ± 1.05 mg/dl)-REF (40.46 ± 3.09 mg/dl)]; triglyceride [100-PP (28.00 ± 1.14)-REF (115.00 ± 7.05)], low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) [100-PP (0.75 ± 0.30)-REF (13.30 ± 2.04)], high-density lipoprotein level(HDL-C) [REF (4.16 ± 0.49)-100-PP (7.59 ± 1.62)], LDL-C/HDL-C [100-PP (0.098 ± 0.01)-REF (8.72 ± 1.20)]. Alanine aminotransferase [CAB (3.10 ± 0.51 U/L)-REF (6.90 ± 0.84 U/L)]; aspartate aminotransferase [100-PP (9.50 ± 0.61 U/L)-REF (19.75 ± 1.50 U/L)]; alkaline phosphate (ALP) [CAB (26.99 ± 2.13 U/L)-BASELINE (UT) (92.40 ± 5.41 U/L]. α-glucosidase [100-PP (1.20 ± 0.07)-REF (0.37 ± 0.02)] and BChE [100-PP (1.12 ± 0.09)-REF (1.30 ± 0.01)] and Malondialdehyde [100-PP (0.33 ± 0.08)-REF (0.37 ± 0.04)]. 100-PP had an outstanding antihyperlipidemic potentials, not injurious to liver and might serve as good functional food that could help in preventing the risk of developing heart coronary disease, atherosclerosis, and stroke. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study provides vital information on the possible effect of pigeon pea-wheat biscuits on the serum lipid profile and peroxidation levels, α-glucosidase and butyrylcholinesterase of diabetic patients. The biscuits produced had lowering effect on cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein but improved high-density lipoprotein. All the biscuits have good lipid profile which may lower the risk of developing coronary heart diseases and vascular heart diseases in diabetes. However, 100-PP biscuit had an outstanding antihyperlipidemia action on the serum lipid levels of the patients. Also, it had the highest α-glucosidase, MDA, and BChE inhibitory potential. ALT, AST, and ALP serum activities of the patient's serum were greatly improved after treatment with the biscuits. 100-PP could lower the risk of developing heart coronary disease, atherosclerosis, and stroke.