Search

Background: The pathological events during diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) could induce hyper-vascular injuries and coagulopathies in affected patients. Thus, this prospective comparative study aims to assess the prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time with kaolin (PTTK) and international normalized ratio (INR) as biomarkers of potential coagulopathies in diabetics with hypertension (test group) and those without hypertension (control group) at Specialist Hospital Sokoto, North-western Nigeria. Materials and methods: Whole blood samples were obtained from 74 diabetic patients with hypertensive and 37 diabetic patients without hypertension and analysed for the PT, PTTK and INR values using commercially available kits. The sociodemographic variables of the enrolled participants were collated and statistically analysed against the coagulometric values using suitable tests. Results: Participants between 50-59 years (39.2%) were the most frequently enrolled participants, followed by 40-49 years (29.73%). Females comprised 56.8% while males were 43.2% of the participants. The PT, PTTK and INR were not statistically significant between diabetes with hypertension and diabetes without hypertension which were (9.22 ± 1.78, 30.27 ± 18.18 and 0.70 ± 0.15) and (9.51 ± 1.85, 36.57 ± 17.17 and 0.72 ± 0.14) respectively (p = 0.532, p = 0.061 and p= 0.575). The age group of the subjects showed a significant increase in PTTK when compared with PT and INR (p = 0.392, p = 0.002 and p = 0.467). There were increases but statistically non-significant in PTTK when compared with PT and INR based on occupation (p =0.833, p = 0.000 and p = 0.779) respectively. Conclusion: Findings from this study showed no significant variation in PT, PTTK and INR of diabetics and diabetics with hypertension. However, future studies could be done to focus on platelet factors and other highly sensitive biomarkers of the coagulation system of these populations. Nevertheless, monitoring the PTTK in older diabetic patients with diabetes mellitus is important to prevent hypercoagulation.

Despite the efforts to encourage the intake of nutritional supplements during antenatal periods, there are still many cases of anemia and protein-energy malnutrition during pregnancy. Hence, this study determined the incidence of anemia, protein-energy malnutrition, and associated risk factors among pregnant women in Abuja, Nigeria.This hospital-based, case-control study involved randomly selected 176 pregnant and non-pregnant women attending the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada, Nigeria. Hemoglobin and hematocrit measurements were used to determine anemia incidence, while plasma protein, zinc levels and body mass index (BMI) were used to determine energy index status. Complete blood counts were analyzed using 5 parts-automatic hemo-analyzer, while plasma protein and zinc were analyzed using calorimetric method. Anemia and protein-energy malnutrition were defined using the World Health Organization (WHO) cut-off values.The mean age of participants was 28.75 ± 5.22 years. Out of 176 participants, 7 (4%) were malnourished while 25% of the participants were anemic. Anemia was significantly associated with participants' occupation (p = 0.002), parity (p0.001) and gestational age (p0.001). Most hematological indices, plasma globulin, albumin, protein, and zinc levels were significantly different (p0.001) among non-pregnant and pregnant women of the first, second and third trimesters.The incidence of anemia and malnutrition was high among study participants. There is a need for improved nutritional intervention, increased awareness and strengthening of health systems in the area of maternal health in Nigeria.

Tobacco use is a major risk factor for tuberculosis (TB). Secondhand smoke (SHS) is also a risk factor for TB and to a lesser extent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection without disease. We investigated the added risk of M. tuberculosis infection due to SHS exposure in childhood contacts of TB cases in The Gambia. Participants were childhood household contacts aged ≤ 14 years of newly diagnosed pulmonary TB (PTB) cases. The intensity of exposure to the case was categorized according to whether contacts slept in the same room, same house, or a different house as the case. Contacts were tested with an enzyme-linked immunospot interferon gamma release assay. In multivariate regression models, M. tuberculosis infection was associated with increasing exposure to a case (odds ratios [OR]: 3.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.11–71.4, P < 0.001]) and with male gender (OR: 1.5 [95% CI: 1.12–2.11], P = 0.008). Tobacco use caused a 3-fold increase in the odds of M. tuberculosis infection in children who slept closest to a case who smoked within the same home compared with a nonsmoking case (OR: 8.0 [95% CI: 2.74–23.29] versus 2.4 [95% CI: 1.17–4.92], P < 0.001). SHS exposure as an effect modifier appears to greatly increase the risk of M. tuberculosis infection in children exposed to PTB cases. Smoking cessation campaigns may be important for reducing transmission of M. tuberculosis to children within households.