Prevalence and Pattern of Smoking among Health Science Students in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nigeria.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Cigarette is a Group 1 carcinogen and a major global health concern. The morbidity and mortality attributable to cigarette smoking are preventable. Health workers and health professional students are presumed to be well informed about smoking and are, therefore, absolved from the menace of smoking: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of smoking among preclinical and health professional students, the knowledge they had of the health consequences of smoking and the reasons why they smoked. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 277 students in which self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used. The variables addressed were age, gender, academic level, departments, smoking or non-smoking status, age at first smoking, tried smoking even puffing, smoking duration, reasons for smoking, thought of smoking as having health benefit, adduced reasons for presuming smoking health benefit, awareness of dangers of smoking (dangers like asthma, COPD, hypertension, diabetes mellitus), reasons for not smoking, and reasons for stopping smoking. Analysis of the variables was doneusing descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The number of subjects studied were 277. The subjects' mean age was 21.47±2.34 years; 161(58.3%) were female subjects, and majority of them were in their 2nd year. Eighty-five percent of the students were in the departments of Medicine, Physiology, Medical Laboratory Science and Physiotherapy. Seven [2.5%, (females 2(0.7%), males 5(1.8%)] of the respondents were current smokers. However, 35[12.6%, females 12(4.3%), males 23(8.3%)] smoked previously but stopped. The mean age of the respondents when they smoked for the first time was 15.78 ± 5.02 years. The main reasons why the respondents smoked were peer pressure (35%), stress (25%) and depression (20%). Furthermore, 15(5.4%) respondents reported that smoking had some health benefits whereas 84% of the students had good knowledge of the health dangers of cigarette smoking and this was the major reason for quitting smoking or not smoking. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of smoking was low among health science students in this study. Stress, depression and peer pressure were the main reasons for smoking, and majority of them had sound knowledge of the health outcomes of smoking. There is a need for further creation of awareness of the dangers of smoking by health institutions to further reduce the prevalence of smoking among health professional students.

CONTEXTE ET OBJECTIF: La cigarette est un cancérogène du groupe 1 et un problème de santé mondial majeur. La morbidité et la mortalité attribuables au tabagisme sont évitables. Les agents de santé et les étudiants en professionnels de la santé sont supposés être bien informés sur le tabagisme et sont donc dispensés de la menace du tabagisme : eu des conséquences sur la santé du tabagisme et des raisons pour lesquelles ils fumaient. MÉTHODES: Il s'agissait d'une étude transversale de 277 étudiants dans laquelle un questionnaire semi-structuré auto-administré a été utilisé. Les variables abordées étaient l'âge, le sexe, le niveau scolaire, les départements, le statut de fumeur ou de non-fumeur, l'âge au début du tabagisme, l'essai de fumer même en bouffant, la durée du tabagisme, les raisons du tabagisme, la perception du tabagisme comme bénéfique pour la santé, les raisons invoquées pour présumer du tabagisme bienfaits pour la santé, sensibilisation aux dangers du tabagisme (dangers comme l'asthme, la MPOC, l'hypertension, le diabète sucré), les raisons de ne pas fumer et les raisons d'arrêter de fumer. L'analyse des variables a été effectuée à l'aide de statistiques descriptives. RÉSULTATS: Le nombre de sujets étudiés était de 277. L'âge moyen des sujets était de 21,47 ± 2,34 ans ; 161 (58,3%) étaient des sujets féminins, et la majorité d'entre eux étaient dans leur 2e année. Quatre-vingt-cinq pour cent des étudiants étaient dans les départements de médecine, physiologie, sciences de laboratoire médical et physiothérapie. Sept [2,5 % (femmes 2 (0,7 %), hommes 5 (1,8 %)] des répondants étaient des fumeurs actuels. Cependant, 35 [12,6 %, femmes 12 (4,3 %), hommes 23 (8,3 %)] ont déjà fumé. mais arrêté. L'âge moyen des répondants lorsqu'ils ont fumé pour la première fois était de 15,78 ± 5,02 ans. Les principales raisons pour lesquelles les répondants ont fumé étaient la pression des pairs (35 %), le stress (25 %) et la dépression (20 %). , 15 (5,4 %) répondants ont déclaré que le tabagisme avait des effets bénéfiques sur la santé alors que 84 % des étudiants avaient une bonne connaissance des dangers pour la santé du tabagisme et c'était la principale raison d'arrêter de fumer ou de ne pas fumer. CONCLUSION: La prévalence du tabagisme était faible chez les étudiants en sciences de la santé de cette étude. Le stress, la dépression et la pression des pairs étaient les principales raisons du tabagisme, et la majorité d'entre eux avaient une bonne connaissance des effets du tabagisme sur la santé. Il est nécessaire de sensibiliser davantage les établissements de santé aux dangers du tabagisme afin de réduire davantage la prévalence du tabagisme chez les étudiants en professionnels de la santé. Mots-clés: Tabagisme, Raisons du tabagisme, étudiants en professionnels de la santé.

The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in blood donors in a Nigerian teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia among blood donors and to determine the possible risk of transmission of malaria parasite to recipients of blood in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State. METHODS: Four hundred and forty-four subjects were selected randomly and EDTA added blood was collected for screening malaria parasites using Giemsa stain. The data were subjected to chi2 analysis. RESULTS: Prevalence of malaria was 30.2% among blood donors and showed bimodal distribution with significant variation in different months. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Due to high prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in this region, all blood samples should be screened for malaria parasites (post-donor screening) and administered with a curative dose of antimalarials prophylactically to all patients transfused with malaria parasite positive blood.

Assessment of doctors' management of severe malaria in urban centres in Eastern Nigeria.

Malaria remains a heavy burden in sub-saharan Africa and accounts for over one million deaths per annum. Prompt and appropriate management of severe cases is critical in both disease control and reduction in mortality. This study explores the management actions of doctors in urban settings in Nigeria. A survey of medical practitioners in four urban local government areas (LGAs) in two states in South- Eastern Nigeria was conducted. Using simple random sampling technique, sixty doctors were chosen in each of the four LGAs giving a total of two hundred and forty. They were interviewed on their management actions for children with severe malaria. The mean age of the doctors was 34.6 years. 83.5%(167) of them were males while 16.5% (33) were females. 65.5% (131) of the doctors attend to children regularly. The common features of severe malaria seen include; high fever 52.7% (69), persistent vomiting 27.5% (36), severe anaemia 24.4% (32), refusal of drinks 7.6% (10), convulsion 7.6% (10), loss of consciousness 4.6% (6) and respiratory distress 2.3% (3). 79.4% (104/131) of the doctors that see children regularly have diagnosed cerebral malaria in the last five years. Quinine is the drug of choice for the treatment of cerebral malaria 87.8% (115/ 131). 56.5% (74/131) of the practitioners see patients with severe anaemia requiring blood transfusion on a monthly basis. The monthly mean of such anaemic patient per physician is 6.7 patients. The median time for blood transfusion from time of request to onset of transfusion is 3 - 4 hours. The current state of health facilities and personnel is not meeting up with the malaria challenge. Urgent efforts need to be made to curb the scourge.

Prevalence of cigarette smoking in young Nigerian females.

Cigarette smoking is a very important public health problem globally, with patterns of smoking varying in different regions of the world. The negative impact of smoking on health is well known but the increasing rate of smoking amongst the youth including females is note worthy. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of smoking in young Nigerian females with a view to defining the size of this social problem and outlining possible control measures. The setting for the study was secondary (post-primary) schools in Anambra State, South east of Nigeria. The study, a cross-sectional survey, involved eight (8) schools selected by multistage sampling technique. A Structured questionnaire was designed for the study. A total of 1,200 female secondary school students were involved. The mean age of the respondents was 16.06 +/- 1.36 years. The main religious denominations were Roman Catholic 69.7%, Anglicans 23.6%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Islam 0.4% and others 0.4%. Ninety two point seven percent (92.7%) were single, 2.9% were married and 4.4% engaged. Fifty seven point four percent (57.4%) were day students while 42.6% were boarders. Smoking prevalence was 7.7%. Smoking was started at the mean age of 12.6 +/- 3.8 years. The number of cigarettes smoked per day has a median of 2 sticks, Marital status significantly affected smoking prevalence as the married had more tendency to smoke than the unmarried. Though the number of day students who smoked were more than the boarders, the significance could not be demonstrated statistically due to the small number of subjects who smoke. Parents educational status did not show any significant influence on the smoking habit. We conclude that the prevalence of cigarette smoking in young Nigerian females is relatively low. Intervention at this stage will be timely but effective strategies to curb the habit will require identification of other factors that may be contributing to the social menace.

Reference values for FEV1 and FVC in male adolescents and young adults of Ibo origin.

Forced vital capacity (FVC) and one second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) were measured in 245 healthy Nigerian Ibo males aged 12-23 years. Analysis showed strong correlation between anthropometric factors (age, height, weight) and spirometric measurements (r----0.808-0.994). In the young adult group (18-23 years), FEV1 did not correlate so strongly with weight, however (r----0.654). Prediction equations, based on age and height have been developed for use among male Ibo adolescents and young adults.