Vitamin D Level in Patients Receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Hypovitaminosis D is a worldwide disorder, with a high prevalence in the general population. This study aims to assess the serum vitamin D level and its relationship with cluster for differentiation; CD4+T cells among HIV infected individuals on HAART.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 150 subjects attending the infectious disease Clinic of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso and presently on antiretroviral treatment. Serum from blood samples collected was analyzed and diagnostic cut-off of (<30ng/ml) and (> 30ng/ml) were used as Deficient and Sufficient vitamin D respectively. Variables such as duration on ART, CD4 count and viral load were extracted from case notes of subjects.

RESULTS

There was disproportionately more female than malesubjects with a male to female ratio of 1:3. Subjects were aged between 16 and 73 years with a mean age of 41.57 ± 10.62. Few subjects (5.3%) were underweight, 23.3% were overweight, and 26% were obese. The median CD4 count was 241.5 cells/mm3 and 72% of subjects were immunosuppressed. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 45.3% (n=68). CD4 count was associated with the level of serum vitamin D, p-value < 0.05.

CONCLUSION

Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent among the studied HIV population. Our study found a significant correlation between serum vitamin D level and CD4 counts. It may be concluded that highly antiretroviral therapy HAART, improves CD4 level when there is sufficient vitamin D level, however, this merits further extensive exploration.

Air Quality Index and Respiratory Symptoms among Garri Processing Workers in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Epidemiological studies have linked morbidity and mortality of individuals to exposure to atmospheric gaseous and particulate matter especially fine particles (PM2.5) and coarse particles (PM10).The process of garri (cassava crisps) production (frying with firewood) is associated with production of gaseous and particulate matter which contribute to ambient particulate matter air pollution. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of air quality indices on the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among the garri processing workers in Ogbomoso.

METHODOLOGY

A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out among 351 garri processing workers in Ogbomoso as subjects and 351 residents of Ogbomoso metropolis as controls that were age, sex and height-matched. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic profiles and respiratory symptoms of participants and document physical examination findings. Particulate matter counter was used for air quality sampling.

RESULTS

The mean age of subjects was 41.7 ± 14.9 years and that of controls was 41.6 ± 14.7 years (p =0.960). The two groups were also matched for socioeconomic status, sex and height. Prevalence of respiratory symptoms was higher at 48.4% among the garri workers than the control group which was 29.1% (p<0.001). Cough was the predominant symptom with a prevalence of 29.3% and 10.5% among the subjects and controls respectively. The mean count of PM1.0 in garri processing locations was significantly higher than that recorded in Ogbomoso metropolis; 73.77±42.08 vs 15.04±6.66mg/m3 (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSION

Garri processing work is associated with significant increase in ambient air pollution and increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms among the workforce compared to the control population. Effective preventive strategies including education and provision of safety masks may reduce the occupational hazards associated with garri processing factory workers in Nigeria.