Evaluation of Cardiometabolic Parameters among Obese Women Using Oral Contraceptives

High-dose oral contraceptives induce hyperinsulinemia without altering immune activation in diet-induced obesity which persists even following a dietary low-fat diet intervention

Combined oral contraceptives (COCs) are known to cause weight gain and alter metabolic and immunological pathways. However, modifications in arterial or venous thrombotic risk profiles of women of reproductive ages on COC remain unclear. The study aimed at assessing the impact of COC on immune activation in diet-induced obesity. We further established whether the dietary intervention of switching from a high-fat diet (HFD) to a low-fat diet (LFD) attenuates immunological responses. Twenty (n=20) five-week-old female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two diet groups of HFD (n=15) and LFD (n=5) and were monitored for eight weeks. After eight weeks, animals in the HFD group switched diets to LFD and were randomly assigned to receive high-dose COC (HCOC) or low-dose COC (LCOC) for six weeks. Animals on HFD significantly gained weight and had a higher lee index when compared to the LFD group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the triglyceride-glucose index, insulin, and other metabolic parameters also increased in the HFD group compared to the LFD group (p < 0.001). Consistently, the levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), were elevated in the HFD group when compared to the LFD group (p < 0.05). Upon switching from a high-fat to a low-fat diet, insulin levels persistently increased in animals receiving HCOC treatment compared to the LFD and HFD/LFD groups (p < 0.05). Thus, in a rat model of HFD-feeding, short-term HCOC treatment induces long-term metabolic dysregulation, which persists despite dietary intervention. However, further studies are recommended to confirm these findings.

Evaluation of health status and its predictor among university staff in Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity share some characteristics in relation to diagnosis, management, and prevention. Overweight, obesity and waist-hip ratio (WHR) are associated with increased risk for development of diabetes and hypertension. Surveillance and regular screening exercises are essential in control and prevention of overweight, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. There is limited literature that reported on these health status parameters among university staff in low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria. It is currently unclear whether Nigerian have a high or low proportion of metabolic risk factors. Therefore, the study aims to examine health status parameters and their predictors among university staff in Nigeria.

METHODS

The study used a cross-sectional descriptive design. Data were collected from 280 university staff in Nigeria. A self-administered questionnaire with sections for sociodemographic data and physical assessment was used to gather information from the participants. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM-SPSS version 25). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression was conducted to explore the association between predictors and health status parameters of the participants.

RESULT

The response rate was 87.5%. University staff had mean systolic blood pressure of 132.04 mmHg ± 19.20 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure of 78.11 mmHg ± 10.81 mmHg, body mass index of 27.74 ± 5.22, waist-hip ratio of 0.88 ± 0.68 and random blood sugar of 98.65 ± 21.30 mg/dL. Predictors of high blood pressure were age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.10, CI 95%: [1.05-1.14]) and gender (aOR = 0.5, CI 95%: [0.8-0.9]) and predictors of body mass index were gender (aOR = 2.3, CI 95%: [1.3-4.2]) and religion (aOR = 0.3, CI 95%: [0.2-0.7]). Gender and age had statistically significant association with waist-hip ratio and random blood sugar respectively.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence rates of high blood pressure and random blood sugar; overweight, obesity and risk WHR are on the increase compared to previous studies. Lifestyle modification, organized and explicit health campaigns coupled with regular screening and surveillance will contribute to the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases.