Factors associated with depression and suicide among patients with diabetes mellitus and essential hypertension in a Nigerian teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and essential hypertension are chronic medical conditions that place a lot of burden on patients. The presence of depression and suicidal behaviour may worsen the prognosis. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of depression and suicidal behaviour in subjects with diabetes mellitus and essential hypertension and also determine the socio-demographic correlates. METHODS: Major depressive episode and suicidality modules of Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview were used to assess depression and suicidal behaviour respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression for the subjects with DM was 27.8% and 26.7% for essential hypertension. The subjects with DM had prevalence of 6.3% for suicidal behaviour while essential hypertension had 7.8%. Depression was higher in subjects with DM if they were not married or had no education while the subjects with essential hypertension were more likely to have depression if they were not married, had no education or not employed. Suicidal behaviour was higher in subjects with DM if they had no education while in essential hypertension suicidal behaviour was higher in females, those not married and those not educated. CONCLUSION: Depression and suicidal behaviour occur with DM and essential hypertension.

Nasopharyngeal carriage of meningococcus and meningococcal meningitis in Sokoto, Nigeria.

In an attempt to determine the epidemiology of meningococcal diseases in Sokoto, Nigeria, nasopharyngeal carriage of meningococcus was studied among the groups at the greatest risk of the disease, i.e. children and young adults. Of 726 subjects sampled, 45 (6.2%) carried meningococcus. Sixteen (35.6%) of the 45 isolates belonged to serogroup B. Others were as follows: group A, 8 (17.8%), C, 5 (11.1%), D, 1 (2.2%) and non-groupable 11 (24.4%). Clinical cases encountered during the period were caused by serogroups A (5, 62.5%) and C (3, 37.5%). A male:female carriage ratio of 1.2:1 was recorded for the potential epidemic serogroups, A and C (chi2 = 1.0091; p>0.05), while the clinical case ratio for the genders was 1.8:1 (chi = 16.1619; p<0.001). The 5-9-y-old age group carried meningococci more frequently (8.5%) than other age brackets, and also registered the highest incidence (46.5%) of the cases. Closeness of contact with a clinical case increased the carriage of the strain of the case (chi2 = 33.3940; p<0.001). Rural dwellers carried meningococcus more frequently than urban dwellers (chi2 = 9.5591; p<0.05). The season had no consistent influence on carriage rates, even though it significantly influenced the outbreaks of the disease. Mass vaccination with polysaccharide vaccine and improved living conditions appear to be the most practical ways to control meningococcal diseases in Africa.

Euphorbia hirta leaves and Musa sapientum fruits in culture media for fungi.

Two plant products, Euphorbia hirta leaves and fruits of Musa sapientum, were evaluated as principal ingredients for selective cultivation of fungi. Sapientum glucose agar supported the growth of both dermatophytic, yeast-like, and saprophytic fungi; growth on this medium compared favourably with growth on Sabouraud glucose agar, a standard mycological medium. Sporulation and pigment formation were stronger on sapientum glucose agar than on Sabouraud glucose agar, although fungal growth on the latter was more luxuriant. Addition of Euphorbia extract to mycological media remarkably enhanced fungal growth on the media, and concomitantly suppressed bacterial growth to a similar extent as did antibiotics. The results of this study suggest that Euphorbia sapientum glucose agar can safely be recommended as a cheap and efficient medium for routine isolation of fungi in both clinical and general mycological studies.