Predictors of Herbal Medicine Use amongst Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in an Urban Setting in Cameroon

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is currently a major global public health burden associated with elevated blood glucose. The use of herbal medicine in the management of type 2 diabetes is currently on the rise both in developed and developing countries. This study sets out to determine the prevalence of herbal medicine use and to identify the factors associated with herbal medicine use amongst type 2 diabetes patients. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study involves 123 adults living with type 2 diabetes (90 males and 30 females), mean age 58.7 ± 9.5 years in the Bamenda III health district of the North West Region of Cameroon. Data on the different types of herbs used, frequency and mode of herbal medicine use as well as reasons for using herbal medicines in the management of T2DM were assessed using a structured questionnaire. Anthropometric and diabetes related measurements were carried out following standard procedures. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent predictors of herbal medicine use. Results: The prevalence of herbal medicine use was 24.4% (n = 30) amongst which 37.4 % used both herbs and orthodox medicine. A higher proportion of diabetic males used herbal medicines compared to females and this difference was significant (X2 = 5.243, p X2 = 10.75, p = 0.005). The most commonly used herbs were Vernonia amygdalina leaves (19.10%), Aloe vera (13.48%), Mangifera indica leaves (11.24%) including its bark and Carica papaya leaves (8.99%). Bivariate analysis indicated that being male (OR 2.8, 95% CI, 1.14 -6.79) and having attained secondary/tertiary education (OR 13.2, 95% CI, 1.6 - 29.9) were significantly (p 0.05) associated with herbal medicine use. Multivariate analysis revealed that having attained secondary /tertiary education (OR 10.5, 95% CI, 1.30 - 35.23) was an independent predictor of herbal medicine use in the study population. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that amongst T2DM patients in Cameroon having attained secondary/tertiary education positively influences the use of herbal medicine in the management of T2DM.

Preservation Potentials of Essential Oils of Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum gratissimum from Two Agro-Ecological Zones on Freshwater Smoke-Dried Oreochromis niloticus Fish Sold in Some Local Markets in Cameroon

Dried fish are susceptible to bacteria and fungi attack and are liable to chemical changes which cause losses in quality and reduction of shelf-life. It is important therefore to maintain the quality of fish because continuous consumption of contaminated fish and their products may predispose consumers to health hazards. Maintenance of high quality fish therefore calls for adequate and effective preservation techniques. The study examined the effectiveness of essential oils of Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum gratissimum from two Agro-ecological zones of Cameroon in limiting the microbial proliferation and preserving the quality of smoke-dried Oreochromis niloticus fish stored at 25˚C for two months. The plant materials were harvested from the Western Highlands and Monomodal Humid Forest agroecological zones of Cameroon. Extraction of the essential oil from the plants was done by hydro-distillation. The fish species (Oreochromis niloticus) used in this study was chosen based on a survey study on the most consumed species of freshwater smoke-dried fish in the Western Highlands and Monomodal Humid Forest Agro-ecological zones of Cameroon. Heterotrophic bacteria counts, fungi counts and Enterobacteriaceae counts were used to assess the level heterotrophic bacteria, fungi and Enterobacteriaceae respectively in the fish samples during storage and were done by culture techniques using total plate count agar, potato dextrose agar and violet red bile glucose agar respectively. Total volatile basic nitrogen, peroxide value, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance assays were used as spoilage indices to assess the nutritional quality of the fish during storage. From the survey study, Oreochromis niloticus was the most consumed smoke-dried fish in the Western Highlands (35.45%) and Monomodal Humid Forest (34.55%) agroecological zones. All the EOs caused a significant reduction in the microbial loads, total volatile basic nitrogen, peroxide value, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance of smoke-dried Oreochromis niloticus as storage progressed. However, the reduction in these values was more pronounced in samples treated with essential oils of O. gratissimum from the Western Highlands, with heterotrophic bacteria, fungi and Enterobacteriaceae counts being 5.89, 6.97 and 4.59 log10 cfu/g respectively at the end of the storage period. This was followed by essential oils of O. gratissimum from the Monomodal Humid Forest with heterotrophic bacteria, fungi and Enterobacteriaceae counts being 6.11, 7.79 and 4.86 log10 cfu/g respectively at the end of the storage period. Also, essential oils of O. gratissimum from the Western Highlands was more effective in preserving the fish quality as lowest total volatile basic nitrogen (12.29 mg/100g), peroxide value (2.79 mEq O2·Kg−1) and thiobabituric reactive substance (1.695 mg MDA/Kg) values were observed for fish samples treated with this extract at the end of the storage period. This was followed by essential oils of O. gratissimum from the Monomodal Humid Forest with total volatile basic nitrogen (14.95 mgN/100g), Peroxide value (3.23 mEq O2·Kg−1) and thiobabituric reactive substance (2.354 mg MDA/Kg) at the end of the storage period. From the results obtained, essential oils from O. gratissimum were more effective than that from O. basilicum in the two agroecological zones and should be considered as natural alternative to chemical preservatives for further application in food preservation.

Cross-Sectional Height-Specific Changes in Serum Lipid Concentrations in Cameroon Children

Background: Information on the relationship between height and changes in serum lipids in children is scarce in Cameroon. The aim of this study is to determine prevalence of dyslipidemia with respect to age and gender and assess the association between height increase and serum lipid changes in Cameroon children. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional analysis included 472 boys and 534 girls between the ages of 5 and 16 years. Body height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) of children were measured and z-scores calculated. Total cholesterol-TC, triglycerides-TG, low density lipoprotein cholesterol-LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol-HDL-C concentrations in fasting blood samples were determined by enzymatic method using an automated clinical chemistry analyzer (RX Monaco, UK). Children were divided into increasing quartiles of height z-score. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to compare mean lipid concentrations across quartiles of height z-score after controlling for age, gender, body weight, WC and fasting blood glucose. Results: The prevalence of elevated TC and LDL-C were respectively 18.5% and 19.2% higher in girls than boys. Also, the prevalence of elevated TC and TG was highest among younger (5- to 9-year-old) girls and boys respectively. There was a significant decrease in mean TC (168.8 to 127.2 mg/dl;p p = 0.019) and LDL-C (91.1 to 69.4 mg/dl;p = 0.018) in boys;and a significant decrease in mean TC (171.2 to 144.7 mg/dl;p = 0.004) and HDL-C (62.8 to 28.7 mg/dl;p p = 0.053) and the decrease in TG (p = 0.211) and LDL-C (p = 0.732) in girls with increasing height were not significant. Conclusion: Serum lipids decreased with increasing height after controlling for different variables. This study indicates that short children have higher serum lipid concentrations and this may increase the risk of lipid disorders, which may persist into adulthood.

The Contribution of Linear Growth Components to Hypertension in Secondary School Adolescents in an Urban Setting in Cameroon

Background: Components of height have been found to be positively associated with blood pressure (BP) both in developed and developing nations. However, amongst Cameroon secondary school adolescents, the relationship between heights, SH and SH/H with BP has rarely been studied. The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of secondary school adolescents with elevated BP and high BP and to evaluate the relationship between the different components of linear growth with BP. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study involving 602 adolescents (399 girls and 203 boys, mean age 14.9 ± 2.3 years) attending some public and private secondary schools in the Bamenda municipality of the North West Region of Cameroon. Anthropometric and BP measurements were carried out following standard procedures. Pearson correlation and linear regression were used to determine the relationship between the various components of height (height, SH, SH/H) with BP amongst the children. Results: The overall prevalence of elevated BP and hypertension amongst the study participants was 21.9% and 15.6% respectively (with 8.3% and 7.3% of the hypertensive children in Stage I and Stage II respectively). However, there were no significant gender differences in the prevalence of elevated BP and high BP (p = 0.497). Girls had a significantly (p Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that height was positively associated with SBP amongst children and adolescents. Thus, height can be used in predicting adolescents with a high risk of developing high BP in our setting.

An Assessment of Predisposing Factors of Atherogenic Dyslipidemia in an Urban Pediatric Population in Cameroon

Background: Dyslipidemia in childhood contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases later in life. This study sets out to determine the prevalence of dyslipidemia and describe the associations between selected variables and dyslipidemia in Cameroon urban children. Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study included 415 children (188 boys and 227 girls) between the ages of 5 and 16 years. Dyslipidemia was defined as an abnormal value of one or more of the following lipids: Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Percentage body fat (%BF) was estimated using bio-electric impedance analysis. A structured questionnaire was used by parents to report physical activity, screen time and eating habits of the children. Relationships between predictors and dyslipidemia were assessed using multiple binary logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 46.0%. Dyslipidemic children had significantly higher %BF, TG and LDL-C and lower HDL-C than the normal children (p p = 0.004), short stature (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.1 - 6.8, p = 0.041), physical activity p Conclusion: This study confirms that obesity, short stature, physical activity < 60 minutes/day and never/occasional consumption of fruits/vegetables were associated with dyslipidemia. Also, a high proportion of children had one or more lipid disorders. This is concerning and indicates the importance of assessing dyslipidemia in pre-school children in future studies.