The early prevention of non-communicable diseases in Cameroon schools program was initiated in 2018 to address the alarming trend of obesity among adolescents through a nutrition education intervention aimed at increasing knowledge on nutrition and the benefits of healthy eating and physical activity. The program included: school surveys to document eating habits and health-risky behaviors in students, the development of a training curriculum, training and sensitization sessions for school staff, school vendors and students, and advocacy meetings with parliamentarians and mayors. We carried out a quasi-experimental study to assess the effect of the intervention on the student's knowledge and eating behavior three months after the training sessions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sub-Saharan African countries have a high burden of viral hepatitis and poor access to screening and care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of using the plasma separation card (PSC) for viral hepatitis B and C screening among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Cameroon and Uganda.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out between 05/2021 and 03/2023 including 192 PLHIV in Cameroon (n = 104) and Uganda (n = 88).
Background: Infection with resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (RPA) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is known to be either endogenous or exogenous or both, but the roles of each of these contamination routes are yet to be clarified. Data regarding prevalence, risk factors, and environmental factors associated with RPA in ICU are very scanty and even when they exist, they seem to be contradictory. So, there is a strong interest in understanding both individual and environmental factors associated with RPA infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The clinical utility of Urinary C-Peptide to Creatinine Ratio (UCPCR) is well understood in people with different types of diabetes in Caucasian populations, but studies are lacking in African populations. We, therefore, aimed to examine Urinary C-Peptide to Creatinine Ratio levels among groups of people with different types of diabetes in a sub-Saharan African population.
Methods: A total of 47 adults with diabetes; 10 with type 1 diabetes, 26 with type 2 diabetes, 11 with ketosis-prone diabetes, and 22 healthy control individuals, were recruited from Yaoundé Central Hospital in Cameroon.
Objectives: Low levels of adiponectin have been reported in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). In sub-Saharan Africa, little data are available on the topic. We aimed to investigate the levels of adiponectin and its relation with insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in women with PCOS in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalaria infection is one of the major causes of deaths in the African continent. The high burden of malaria in Africa is due to P. falciparum, which adapts and cospecializes with Anopheles gambiae, the most effective and widespread malaria vector.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdentification of genetic/genomic factors contributing to dyslipidemia is of great interest to prevention and reduction of the onset and burden of cardiovascular diseases in Africa. This systematic review summarizes available data on genetic variants associated with dyslipidemia in populations within Africa. A PubMed and EMBASE database search was conducted to identify all studies published until June 2018 on genetic susceptibility to dyslipidemia in African-based populations, excluding familial hypercholesterolemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Metformin is one of the most commonly used drugs for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Despite its efficacy and safety, metformin is frequently associated with highly variable glycemic responses, which is hypothesized to be the result of genetic variations in its transport by organic cation transporters (OCTs). This systematic review aims to highlight and summarize the overall effects of OCT1 polymorphisms on therapeutic responses to metformin and to evaluate their potential role in terms of interethnic differences with metformin responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Metformin is one of the most commonly used drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Despite its widespread use, there are considerable interindividual variations in metformin response, with about 35% of patients failing to achieve initial glycemic control. These variabilities that reflect phenotypic differences in drug disposition and action may indeed be due to polymorphisms in genes that regulate pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of metformin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
August 2017
Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic diseases are growing concerns among patients with HIV infection as a consequence of the improving survival of this population. We aimed to assess the relationship between CVD risk and insulin resistance in a group of black African individuals with HIV infection.
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved patients with HIV infection aged 30-74 years and followed up at the Yaoundé Central Hospital, Cameroon.
Background: Little is known on the magnitude and correlates of insulin resistance in HIV-infected people in Africa. We determined the prevalence of insulin resistance and investigated associated factors in HIV-infected adult Cameroonians.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study at the Yaoundé Central Hospital, Cameroon; during which we enrolled HIV-infected people aged 30 to 74 years with no previous history of cardiovascular disease.
J Health Popul Nutr
May 2017
J Health Popul Nutr
April 2017
Objective: This study aimed at investigating the association between the rs7903146 (C/T) polymorphism of the TCF7L2 gene with obesity in a Cameroonian population.
Method: This was a case-control pilot study including 61 obese and 61 non-obese Cameroonian adults. Anthropometric indices of obesity, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and blood lipids were measured.
Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPAR-γ2) is a transcription factor with a key role in adipocyte differentiation, lipid storage and glucose homeostasis. The Ala allele of the common Pro12Ala polymorphism in the isoform PPAR-γ2 is at the center of many controversies because in some populations, it has been observed to be associated with T2DM or obesity but, not in others. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of Pro12Ala polymorphism in the PPAR-γ2 gene with susceptibility to obesity or T2DM in a Cameroonian population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is growing faster in Africa than anywhere else, driven by the dual effects of genetic and environmental factors. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses of published studies on genetic markers of T2D in populations within Africa.
Methods: Multiple databases were searched for studies of genetic variants associated with T2D in populations living in Africa.
Background: The transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) is one of the genes that have been identified as possible determinants of diabetes which is associated with obesity. Data on the genetic causes of obesity in sub-Saharan African populations are very scares. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene polymorphism (rs12255372 G/T) and obesity and weight-related traits in a Cameroonian population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To study the relationship between the rs12255372 (G/T) polymorphism of the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a Cameroonian population.
Methods: This case-control study included 60 T2DM patients and 60 healthy normoglycemic controls, all unrelated and of Cameroonian origin, aged above 40 years (range 40-87). The Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism - Polymerase Chain Reaction (RFLP-PCR) was used for genotyping.
Background: Data on the genetic variants for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in sub-Saharan African populations are very scarce. This study aimed to investigate the association of transcription factor 7-like (TCF7L2) with T2DM in a Cameroonian population and explore possible genotype-phenotype correlation.
Methods: This is a case-control study involving 37 T2DM patients and 37 non-diabetic volunteers of Cameroonian ethnicity aged 40 years old and above.