| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 3
| Issue : 1 | Page : 11-18 |
|
|
Cardiovascular risk factors among geriatric Nigerians in a primary care clinic of a tertiary hospital in Southeastern Nigeria
Gabriel Uche Pascal Iloh1, Okechukwu Kalu Iro2, Peace Ifeoma Collins3
1 Department of Family Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria
2 Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria
3 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Gabriel Uche Pascal Iloh
Department of Family Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State
Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/archms.archms_14_17
|
|
|
Background: Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors tend to aggregate in geriatric population with variable distribution. These risk factors may act as alert signals for proactive geriatric CV health programs. This study was aimed at determining the frequencies of CV risk factors among geriatric Nigerians in a primary care clinic of a tertiary hospital in Southeastern Nigeria. Patients and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out on 280 geriatric Nigerians at the primary care clinic of Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Nigeria. Geriatric Nigerians aged 60 years and above were screened for risk factors of CV disease. The data collected included sociodemographic variables and metabolic, dietary, and behavioral risk factors using a structured, pretested, and researcher-administered questionnaire. Results: The top five most common CV risk factors were physical inactivity (67.1%), inadequate fruit consumption (65.7%), hypertension (48.2%), abdominal obesity (47.9%), and dyslipidemia (36.8%). Others were general obesity (31.1%), inadequate vegetable consumption (22.5%), diabetes mellitus (15.7%), habitual use of alcoholic beverages (9.0%), habitual use of snuff (3.9%), and nonhabitual smoking of cigarettes (2.8%). Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that the risk factors of CV disease exist among geriatric Nigerians in primary care, with five most frequent being physical inactivity, inadequate fruit consumption, hypertension, abdominal obesity, and dyslipidemia. Screening geriatric Nigerians for modifiable CV risk factors should be integrated into geriatric primary care in the study area. |
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
