Cardiometabolic risk factors and preclinical target organ damage among adults in ghana: Findings from a national study

Jie Li, Isaac Kofi Owusu, Qingshan Geng, Aba Ankomaba Folson, Zhichao Zheng, Yaw Adu-Boakye, Xinran Dong, Wen Chih Wu, Francis Agyekum, Hongwen Fei, Harold Ayetey, Mulan Deng, Fred Adomako-Boateng, Zuxun Jiang, Braimah Baba Abubakari, Zhao Xian, Forster Nketiah Fokuoh, Lambert Tetteh Appiah, Simin Liu, Chunying Lin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although sub-Saharan Africa has a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), there remains a lack of systematic and comprehensive assessment of risk factors and early CVD outcomes in adults in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using a stratified multistage random sampling method, we recruited 1106 men and women, aged >18 years, from the general population in Ghana to participate in a national health survey from 2016 to 2017. In Ghanaian adults, the age-standardized prevalence of known CVD risk factors was 15.1% (95% CI, 12.9%–17.3%) for obesity, 6.8% (95% CI, 5.1%–8.5%) for diabetes mellitus, 26.1% (95% CI, 22.9%–29.4%) for hypertension, and 9.3% (95% CI, 7.1%–11.5%) for hy-peruricemia. In addition, 10.1% (95% CI, 7.0%–13.2%) of adults had peripheral artery disease, 8.3% (95% CI, 6.7%–10.0%) had carotid thickening, 4.1% (95% CI, 2.9%–5.2%) had left ventricular hypertrophy, and 2.5% (95% CI, 1.5%–3.4%) had chronic kidney disease. Three CVD risk factors appeared to play prominent roles in the development of target organ damage, including obesity for peripheral artery disease (odds ratio [OR], 2.22; 95% CI, 1.35–3.63), hypertension for carotid thickening (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.22–3.08), and left ventricular hypertrophy (OR, 5.28; 95% CI, 2.55–12.11) and hyperuricemia for chronic kidney disease (OR, 5.49; 95% CI, 2.84–10.65). CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive health survey characterized the baseline conditions of a national cohort of adults while confirming the prevalence of CVD risk factors, and early CVD outcomes have reached epidemic proportions in Ghana. The distinct patterns of risk factors in the development of target organ damage present important challenges and opportunities for interventions to improve cardiometabolic health among adults in Ghana.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere017492
JournalJournal of the American Heart Association
Volume9
Issue number24
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Dec 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adults
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Ghana
  • Risk factors
  • Target organ damage

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