Readiness of primary healthcare and community markets for joint delivery of cardiovascular disease prevention services in Kenya: an observational feasibility study of Health Kiosks in Markets (HEKIMA).

Objectives: The increasing burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Kenya threatens its healthcare system. There is a need for innovative models that improve equitable access to CVD prevention services. Community markets are social establishments with untapped potential to promote public health.

Moving from helicopter research to proximity research and capacity building.

Health funding agencies are increasingly prioritizing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) strategies. This shift, while essential, can inadvertently lead to 'helicopter research', especially among junior researchers, due to insufficient institutional support. We warn against such unethical practices and propose strategies for academia and funding bodies to address them.

Helminthiasis and malaria co-infection among women of reproductive age in a rural setting of Kilifi County, coastal Kenya: A mixed method study.

Soil transmitted helminthiasis (STH), Schistosoma haematobium and malaria co-infection lead to increased susceptibility to other infections and poor pregnancy outcomes among women of reproductive age (WRA). This study sought to establish risk factors, burden of co-infection with STH, S. haematobium and Plasmodium sp.

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Rural Kenya-2023: Vihiga II.

Background: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among adults in Vihiga County, Western Kenya.

Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was completed. Participants ( = 575) were selected at the household level using a systematic random sample, and sociodemographic, anthropometrical, clinical, and biochemical data were collected.

Methods for Global Health Collaboration on Cardiovascular Disease: Vihiga 1.

Background: Partnership building and understanding of context that addresses global health concerns is essential in global health research. However, limited knowledge is available on the practical experiences of building such relationships.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of the processes involved in establishing international collaboration, gain community involvement and cooperation with gatekeepers, and study populations of rural village areas in Western Kenya.

Validation of the Fatty Liver Index for identifying non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in a Kenyan population.

Background And Aim: Fatty Liver Index (FLI) is a simple clinical scoring system estimating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is validated in European-descent and Asian populations, but not in sub-Saharan Africans. The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity of the FLI for predicting NAFLD in a population from Kenya.

Contextually appropriate communication strategies for COVID-19 prevention in Kenya border regions: evidence from a mixed methods observational study in Busia and Mandera counties.

Objectives: Kenya has long and porous borders with its neighbouring countries. These regions, predominantly inhabited by highly mobile rural communities with strong cross-border cultural ties, present major challenges in managing movement of people and COVID-19 preventive measures. Our study sought to assess knowledge of COVID-19 prevention behaviours, how these varied by socioeconomic (SEC) factors and the challenges of engagement and implementation, in two border counties of Kenya.

Association between sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge and practice of COVID-19 measures among households in Mombasa and Kilifi County, Kenya.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a severe acute respiratory disease. The Kenyan Ministry of Health (MoH) put in place measures that included mandatory face masking, hand and cough hygiene and social and physical distancing to reduce disease transmission and increase prevention efforts. The primary objective of this study was to determine how sociodemographic characteristics affect knowledge and practice of the above measures.

Assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene practices for prevention and control of COVID-19 in Kenya.

Background: Safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are an essential part of preventing and protecting human health during infectious disease outbreaks, including the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Additionally, adherence to COVID-19 measures, including washing hands using soap and proper waste disposal, no doubt can improve containment of the virus.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Kilifi and Mombasa Counties in Kenya.

Hepatic steatosis is associated with anthropometry, cardio-metabolic disease risk, sex, age and urbanisation, but not with ethnicity in adult Kenyans.

Objective: We aimed to determine the associations of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with cardio-metabolic risk factors for diabetes in adult Kenyans.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken among rural and urban Kenyans of different ethnic origin. Ultrasonography scanning (USS) methods were used for the assessment of hepatic fat accumulation for NAFLD assessment and abdominal fat distribution, and simple anthropometry measurements were performed.

Waist circumference and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol as markers of cardiometabolic risk in Kenyan adults.

Background: Abdominal obesity predict metabolic syndrome parameters at low levels of waist circumference (WC) in Africans. At the same time, the African lipid profile phenotype of low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol without concomitant elevated triglyceride levels renders high triglyceride levels detrimental to cardiometabolic health unsuitable for identifying cardiometabolic risk in black African populations.

Objectives: We aimed to identify simple clinical measures for cardiometabolic risk based on WC and HDL in an adult Kenyan population in order to determine which of the two predictors had the strongest impact.

Circulating PCSK9 is associated with liver biomarkers and hepatic steatosis.

Background: In parallel to the increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome, the prevalence of hepatic steatosis has also increased dramatically worldwide. Hepatic steatosis is a major risk factor of hepatic cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Circulating levels of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) have been positively associated with the metabolic syndrome.

Khat use and psychotic symptoms in a rural Khat growing population in Kenya: a household survey.

Background: Khat is an amphetamine like psychostimulant chewed by over 10 million people globally. Khat use is thought to increase the risk of psychosis among its chewers. The evidence around this however remains inconclusive stemming from the scanty number of studies in this area and small study sample sizes.

Disability-Adjusted Life-Years Due to Stroke in Kenya.

Background: There is little information on stroke morbidity in Kenya to inform health care planning. The disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) are a time-based measure of health status that incorporates both disability and mortality.

Methods: This was a multicenter prospective study in Kenya's public tertiary hospitals conducted in 2015-2017.

Iron Status of Kenyan Pregnant Women after Adjusting for Inflammation Using BRINDA Regression Analysis and Other Correction Methods.

Serum ferritin concentration is the preferred biomarker to assess population iron status in the absence of inflammation. Interpretation of this biomarker is complicated in populations with a high burden of infection, however, because inflammation increases serum ferritin concentration independently of iron status. We aimed to compare estimates of iron status of Kenyan pregnant women, with circulating ferritin concentrations adjusted for inflammation using newly proposed methods by the BRINDA project, or using previously proposed adjustment methods.

Anthropometric measures and their association with risk factors for cardio-metabolic diseases in Kenyan adults.

Background: The prevalence of cardio-metabolic diseases (CMD) is drastically increasing worldwide. Anthropometric measures of fat accumulation are correlated with CMD and Metabolic Syndrome (MS), but few studies have addressed this association in sub-Saharan African populations.

Aim: To investigate the association between anthropometric features, MS and other CMD risk factors in a population from Kenya.

Stroke Mortality in Kenya's Public Tertiary Hospitals: A Prospective Facility-Based Study.

Background: Despite the increasing global burden of stroke, there are limited data on stroke from Kenya to guide in decision-making. Stroke occurrence in sub-Saharan Africa has been associated with poor health outcomes. This study sought to establish the stroke incidence density and mortality in Kenya's leading public tertiary hospitals for purposes of informing clinical practice and policy.

Malnutrition and cachexia among cancer out-patients in Nairobi, Kenya.

Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Kenya. However, there is scarce information on the nutritional status of cancer patients to guide in decision making. The present study sought to assess the risk of malnutrition, and factors associated with malnutrition and cachexia, among cancer out-patients, with the aim of informing nutrition programmes for cancer management in Kenya and beyond.

Nutritional status of cancer outpatients using scored patient generated subjective global assessment in two cancer treatment centers, Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: Malnutrition is a universal problem in cancer patients renowned as an important factor for increased morbidity, decreased quality of life and high mortality. Early diagnosis of malnutrition risk through nutrition screening followed by comprehensive and timely interventions reduces mortality associated with malnutrition. The Scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PGSGA) method has been proved efficient in identifying cancer patients with nutrition challenges and guiding appropriate interventions.

Association Between Plasma Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 and the Presence of Metabolic Syndrome in a Predominantly Rural-Based Sub-Saharan African Population.

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has increased dramatically in low- and middle-income countries. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) plays a major role in low-density lipoprotein receptor degradation, but its relationship with metabolic parameters is still poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the association between plasma PCSK9 and metabolic parameters in a Kenyan cohort.

Hemoglobin levels and blood pressure are associated in rural black africans.

Objectives: The association between blood levels of hemoglobin (B-hgb) and blood pressure (BP) has been widely investigated in Caucasians and Asians but there is a paucity of data in rural black Africans. The objective was to investigate the association between B-hgb and BP in a rural black African population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three districts in Kenya (Bondo, Kitui, and Transmara) with the inclusion of participants aged ≥17 years.

HbA1c, fasting and 2 h plasma glucose in current, ex- and never-smokers: a meta-analysis.

Aims/hypothesis: The relationships between smoking and glycaemic variables have not been well explored. We compared HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2 h plasma glucose (2H-PG) in current, ex- and never-smokers.

Methods: This meta-analysis used individual data from 16,886 men and 18,539 women without known diabetes in 12 DETECT-2 consortium studies and in the French Data from an Epidemiological Study on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (DESIR) and Telecom studies.