Publications by authors named "Evans A Asamane"

Background: Diarrhoeal disease remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among the under-fives in many low- and middle-income countries. Changes to food safety practices and feeding methods around the weaning period, alongside improved nutrition, may significantly reduce the risk of disease and improve development for infants. We describe a protocol for a cluster randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-faceted community-based educational intervention that aims to improve food safety and hygiene behaviours and enhance child nutrition.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examined the link between knowledge of nutrition and physical activity guidelines and actual physical function and activity levels in older adults, highlighting a general lack of correlation and distinct knowledge gaps.
  • - Among the 106 well-educated and healthy participants (average age 70), knowledge of nutrition did show a positive association with handgrip strength in males and faster gait speed in females, but overall, knowledge did not significantly connect to physical health outcomes.
  • - The results suggest that in this educated group, factors other than knowledge—such as attitudes and personal behaviors—might play a more crucial role in determining health and physical activity levels.
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Non-communicable diseases disproportionately affect African migrants from sub-Saharan Africa living in high-income countries (HICs). Evidence suggests this is largely driven by forces that include migration, globalisation of unhealthy lifestyles (poor diet, physical inactivity and smoking), unhealthy food environments, socio-economic status and population ageing. Changes in lifestyle behaviours that accompany migration are exemplified primarily by shifts in dietary behaviours from more traditional diets to a diet that incorporates that of the host culture, which promotes the development of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and CVD.

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Background: Frailty is a common and clinically significant condition among geriatric populations. Although well-evidenced pooled estimates of the prevalence of frailty exist within various settings and populations, presently there are none assessing the overall prevalence of frailty among geriatric hospital inpatients. The purpose of this review was to systematically search and analyse the prevalence of frailty among geriatric hospital inpatients within the literature and examine its associations with national economic indicators.

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There has been little agreement on the role that socioeconomic factors play in the aetiology of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), obesity, and diabetes among migrants in the United Kingdom (UK). We systematically reviewed the existing evidence on this association to contribute to filling this gap in the literature. Two reviewers were involved at each stage of the review process to ensure validity.

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Article Synopsis
  • Urbanization in Ghana may negatively affect food security, particularly for economically vulnerable populations, impacting food supply, safety, and quality.
  • A review of 45 studies indicated most research focused on food safety and quality, primarily in the Greater Accra Region, with a lack of studies on food supply and stability.
  • Future research should include qualitative methods to explore urban residents' experiences and perceptions of food insecurity, as current evidence highlights concerns about the poor safety and quality of food in markets.
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Considering the recent increase in the demand for meat and its subsequent implications for health and food security, there is an increasing need to explore its nutritional and social importance among young men in settings experiencing nutrition transition. A better understanding of meat in the diets of this group could contribute to the design of socio-culturally appropriate interventions to improve healthy eating, as these men are key decision makers in family food choices. This mixed-methods study aimed to assess the nutritional and social contribution of meat in the diet of young adult men in urban and rural Zambia.

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Background: There are limited longitudinal data regarding nutrient intake, nutritional status and physical function in community-dwelling ethnically diverse older adults. This study explored these variables and their relationship at baseline ( = 100) and 8-months' follow-up ( = 81) among community-dwelling ethnically diverse older adults (≥60 years) in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Methods: Multiple-pass 24-h dietary recalls and the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form assessed nutritional intake and status, respectively.

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Despite the reported benefits of diet on cognition in older adults, randomized controlled trials (RCT) testing the impact of dietary interventions on cognitive scores have yielded less promising results when cognition was assessed via neuropsychological tests. More recently, neuroimaging has been used to identify more subtle brain-related changes associated to cognition. Hence, employing a combination of neuroimaging techniques with neuropsychological tests could clarify this controversy.

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Background: The United Kingdom population is ageing and becoming increasingly diverse; thus, it is vital to develop and implement interventions supporting this population shift. Social networks (SN) significantly impact health outcomes in later life, however relatively little is known about SN of community-dwelling ethnically diverse older adults. This study aimed to: 1) profile SN and changes in SN in this population over 8 months; 2) examine associations between SN, dietary intake, nutritional status, and physical function.

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Background: Osteoarthritis is a prevalent condition in older adults that causes many patients to require a hip or knee replacement. Reducing patients' sedentariness prior to surgery may improve physical function and post-operative outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a pragmatic randomised-controlled feasibility study with 2:1 allocation into intervention or usual care groups.

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Ethnic minorities have a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases relating to unhealthy lifestyle practices. Several factors have been identified as influencing unhealthy lifestyle practices among this population; however, there is little evidence about how these factors differ among a heterogeneous sample living in a super-diverse city. This study aimed to: (1) identify and compare factors influencing eating behaviours and physical function among ethnic older minorities living in Birmingham, United Kingdom; and (2) understand how these factors and their association with healthy eating and physical function changed over 8-months.

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