Co-occurrence of non-communicable disease risk factors among adolescents in Jos, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The co-occurrence and clustering of risk factors for non-communicable disease (NCD) is a global public health concern. AIM: This study aimed to assess the co-occurrence and clustering of risk factors for NCDs among in-school and out-of-school adolescents in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria. SETTING: Secondary schools and markets in Jos North Local Government Area. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 377 in-school and 377 out-of-school adolescents, aged 10-19 years of age. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on behavioural and physical risk factors for NCDs. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for comparisons at a 5% level of significance. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 23.0. RESULTS: Of the 754 sampled adolescents, 386 (51.2%) were females and 368 (48.8%) were males. Adolescents aged 10-14 years made up 37.8% of the participants, 15 to 17 years of age accounted for 46.9% and 18-19 years 15.3%. Risk factors with the highest prevalence were a sedentary lifestyle (94.2%) and an unhealthy diet (92.4%). Majority (97.2%) had two or more risk factors while 1.9% of adolescents had no risk factor. More in-school adolescents (24.1%) had two risk factors compared to 14.1% of out-of-school adolescents (p 0.001); 14.1% of out-of-school adolescents had five or more risk factors compared to 2.9% of those in school (p 0.001). CONCLUSION: Co-occurrence and clustering of behavioural and physical risk factors was found among both in-school and out-of-school adolescents.Contribution: This study highlighted the burden of risk factors for NCDs among both in-school and out-of-school adolescents in the North-Central part of Nigeria. This is especially useful in developing targeted interventions to tackle these risk factors.

Relationship between maternal and infant serum vitamin D levels in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: there is growing interest in the link between maternal and infant vitamin D (VD) levels. Breast milk transmission and the fact that the mother and her child may share risk factors for VD, such as exposure to sunlight, diet, and sociocultural influences may impact VD status, the magnitude of which is largely unknown in our topical low-middle income setting. We assessed the connection between maternal and infant VD status including their correlates. Methods: this cross-sectional study investigated 95 maternal-infant pairs in Jos. Mothers were interviewed using a questionnaire. Blood sampling and analysis of serum total 25 hydroxy VD were performed using the chemiluminescent immunoassay method. Maternal and infant VD levels were classified as VD deficient (VDD), VD insufficient (VDI), and VD sufficient (VDS). The mean maternal and infant VD were compared, and the Spearman correlation between them was assessed, a stepwise linear regression was also performed with infant vitamin D as a dependent variable. For all statistical analysis, p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: the median maternal and infant VD was 29.68 ng/ml and 29.41 ng/ml, respectively. The mean infant VD (32.19 ± 10.61 ng/ml) was comparable to maternal VD (31.12 ± 12.94 ng/ml) (p=0.483), with a Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.3 (p=0.037). Maternal vitamin D (beta=0.539, duration of exclusive breastfeeding (beta=-3.490), and infant age (beta=1.655) were found to be significant independent predictors of infant vitamin. Conclusion: beyond neonatal age, a significant positive relationship between maternal and infants´ VD levels exists and suggests that family-focused vitamin D intervention might be an effective public health approach in the tropical city of Jos.