Publications by authors named "Obiako R"
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to investigate how alcohol consumption is linked to stroke occurrences in Nigeria and Ghana by comparing individuals who had strokes to those who didn't.!
- It involved over 7,368 participants, classifying them into groups based on their alcohol consumption habits, and utilized various statistical models to analyze the data.!
- Results indicated that current drinkers had a higher risk of stroke, particularly among moderate, binge, and heavy drinkers, while former drinkers showed no significant stroke risk. !
Background: Hypertension is preeminent among the vascular risk factors for stroke occurrence. The wide gaps in awareness, detection, treatment, and control rates of hypertension are fueling an epidemic of stroke in sub-Saharan Africa.
Purpose: To quantify the contribution of untreated, treated but uncontrolled, and controlled hypertension to stroke occurrence in Ghana and Nigeria.
The prevalence of hypertension, the commonest risk factor for preventable disability and premature deaths, is rapidly increasing in Africa. The African Control of Hypertension through Innovative Epidemiology, and a Vibrant Ecosystem [ACHIEVE] conference was convened to discuss and initiate the co-implementation of the strategic solutions to tame this burden toward achieving a target of 80% for awareness, treatment, and control by the year 2030. Experts, including the academia, policymakers, patients, the WHO, and representatives of various hypertension and cardiology societies generated a 12-item communique for implementation by the stakeholders of the ACHIEVE ecosystem at the continental, national, sub-national, and local (primary) healthcare levels.
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- African ancestry populations have the highest stroke burden globally, yet the genetic factors contributing to stroke in these groups are not well understood, prompting the SIREN study in West Africa to investigate this.
- The study involved recruiting stroke patients and stroke-free controls to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS), leading to DNA analysis that identified significant SNPs near specific genes associated with stroke risk.
- Key findings highlighted protective genetic variants near AADACL2 and MIR5186 on chromosome 3, as well as other notable associations on chromosomes 5, 6, 12, 16, and 18, which could provide insights for future stroke risk assessment in these populations.
Background: The dietary factors associated with the high burden of hypertension among indigenous Africans remain poorly understood. We assessed the relationship between dietary patterns and hypertension among indigenous Africans.
Method: In this study, 1550 participants with hypertension matched (for age: ± 5 years, sex and ethnicity) with 1550 participants without hypertension were identified from the stroke-free population in the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network study in Ghana and Nigeria.
Factors associated with frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption among selected sub-Saharan African populations: evidence from the Cardiovascular H3Africa Innovation Resource Project.
Int J Epidemiol
February 2024
Background: Frequent fruit and vegetable consumption is considered a promising dietary behaviour that protects health. However, most existing studies about the factors associated with this phenomenon among Africans are based on single-country reports, apart from one meta-regression combining smaller studies. This study harmonized large datasets and assessed factors associated with the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption in this population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with a high case fatality rate in resource-limited settings. The independent predictors of poor outcome after ICH in sub-Saharan Africa remains to be characterized in large epidemiological studies. We aimed to determine factors associated with 30-day fatality among West African patients with ICH.
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- Non-cigarette tobacco (NCT) use is linked to an increased risk of stroke among indigenous Africans, suggesting a need for better understanding and public health interventions.
- The study involved 7,617 respondents, showing that those who used smokeless NCT had a significant association with stroke, while smoked NCT did not show a strong link.
- Increased awareness and targeted policies are essential to address the rising burden of stroke related to NCT usage in the population.
Background: There is a growing interest in stroke genomics and neurobiobanking research in Africa. These raise several ethical issues, such as consent, re-use, data sharing, storage, and incidental result of biological samples. Despite the availability of ethical guidelines developed for research in Africa, there is paucity of information on how the research participants' perspectives could guide the research community on ethical issues in stroke genomics and neurobiobanking research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aimed to develop a risk-scoring model for hypertension among Africans.
Methods: In this study, 4413 stroke-free controls were used to develop the risk-scoring model for hypertension. Logistic regression models were applied to 13 risk factors.
Introduction: Sleep disturbance is common in persons with stroke and when unrecognised and untreated may hinder rehabilitation efforts and lead to poor functional outcome. It may also result in increased risk for stroke recurrence.
Aim: We investigated the frequency and associated factors of sleep disturbances amongst stroke survivors.
Article Synopsis
- A study aimed to evaluate community-dwelling adults in Nigeria regarding their knowledge of stroke risks and their willingness to use mobile health (mHealth) technology to assess those risks.
- Conducted with 486 participants, it revealed 84% were interested in knowing their stroke risk; however, only 29.6% had previously had their risk assessed, with a preference for immediate risk information over longer-term predictions.
- The findings suggest a strong interest in using mHealth applications for stroke risk assessment, highlighting the need for clinical trials to explore this as a prevention strategy in sub-Saharan Africa.
Article Synopsis
- Background research indicates that severe stroke outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa may be linked to initial stroke severity, but there is limited knowledge on what influences stroke severity specifically in indigenous Africans.
- A study involving 3,660 West African stroke cases found that diet (high meat and low vegetable consumption) and lesion volume significantly correlated with severe stroke conditions, with severe cases comprising over half of all evaluated strokes.
- The findings suggest that addressing dietary habits and understanding lesion characteristics could help mitigate the high rates of severe stroke in this population.
Article Synopsis
- A pilot randomized controlled trial tested a mobile health intervention aimed at improving stroke risk awareness and control in 100 stroke-free adults with multiple vascular risk factors in Africa.
- Participants were divided into a control group receiving brief counseling and an intervention group using a stroke video and a riskometer app for 2 months, resulting in a significant improvement in stroke risk scores and awareness in the intervention group.
- The study showed promising outcomes in reducing stroke risk and blood pressure, suggesting a need for further research with longer follow-up to evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions.
Hypertension is a leading preventable and controllable risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and the leading preventable risk for death globally. With a prevalence of nearly 50% and 93% of cases uncontrolled, very little progress has been made in detecting, treating, and controlling hypertension in Africa over the past thirty years. We propose the African Control of Hypertension through Innovative Epidemiology and a Vibrant Ecosystem (ACHIEVE) to implement the HEARTS package for improved surveillance, prevention, treatment/acute care of hypertension, and rehabilitation of those with hypertension complications across the life course.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Every minute, six indigenous Africans develop new strokes. Patient-level and system-level contributors to early stroke fatality in this region are yet to be delineated. We aimed to identify and quantify the contributions of patient-level and system-level determinants of inpatient stroke fatality across 16 hospitals in Ghana and Nigeria.
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- The study examined how stroke-free individuals and healthcare providers in Nigeria and Ghana perceive and prefer the disclosure of genetic testing results related to stroke.
- Findings indicated that healthcare professionals generally had a better understanding of genetic testing compared to family members, and suggested that relatives and religious figures are preferred for delivering sensitive results to patients.
- Challenges for effective disclosure included inadequate information, fear of stigma and familial distress, and a lack of awareness about national guidelines, highlighting the need for culturally tailored educational initiatives.
Background: Stroke is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, but little is known about the contribution of secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) to stroke epidemiology among indigenous Africans.
Objective: To evaluate the association of SHSE with stroke among indigenous Africans.
Methods: We analyzed the relationship of SHSE with stroke among 2990 case-control pairs of adults who had never smoked (identified in the SIREN study) using conditional logistic regression at a two-sided P < 0.
Differential associations between pre-diabetes, diabetes and stroke occurrence among West Africans.
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis
November 2022
Background: There are limited data from Africa on the burden and associations between pre-diabetes (pre-DM), diabetes mellitus (DM) and stroke occurrence in a region experiencing a profound rise in stroke burden.
Purpose: To characterize the associations between stroke and dysglycemic status among West Africans.
Methods: The Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network (SIREN) is a multicenter, case-control study involving 15 sites in Ghana and Nigeria.
Aims: The relationship between vegetable consumption and hypertension occurrence remains poorly characterized in sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the association of vegetable consumption with odds of hypertension among indigenous Africans.
Methods And Results: We harmonized data on prior vegetable consumption and hypertension occurrence (defined as one of the following conditions; systolic blood pressure ≥140 or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg or previous diagnosis or use of antihypertensive medications) from 16 445 participants across five African countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Burkina Faso) in the Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network and Africa Wits-INDEPTH partnership for Genomic studies.
Background: We evaluated the characteristics of carotid and vertebral atherosclerosis in indigenous West Africans with stroke.
Methodology: Of the 3778stroke patients recruited between 01/2014 and 08/2017, 1070 (28.3%) received carotid and vertebral artery evaluation with B-mode Ultrasound.
Article Synopsis
- The study explored the prevalence and implications of metabolic syndrome (METS) in African patients with newly diagnosed stroke, involving 3998 participants.
- Factors linked to METS included age over 50, male gender, higher income, stress, family history of diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
- The findings revealed that METS was common among stroke patients and associated with greater stroke severity and a higher risk of death within one month of the stroke, highlighting the need for lifestyle interventions to mitigate these risks.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the awareness and willingness to donate biological samples for neurobiobanking in Ghana and Nigeria, revealing low levels of knowledge about blood and brain donation among community members.
- About a third of respondents knew about blood donation, while only 18.8% were willing to donate their brain after death, primarily due to cultural beliefs and lack of information.
- The research highlights the importance of targeted public education regarding neurobiobanking and informed consent in sub-Saharan Africa, taking into account the region's sociocultural diversity.
Stroke is a major cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and genetic factors appear to play a part. This has led to stroke biobanking and genomics research in SSA. Existing stroke studies have focused on causes, incidence rates, fatalities and effects.
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