Key result
Hypertension linked to ~5.3-fold higher odds of LVH in Ghanaian adults.
Why the study?
Despite a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, systematic and comprehensive assessments of risk factors and early CVD outcomes in adults have been lacking.
Are cardiometabolic risk factors such as hypertension associated with preclinical target organ damage in adults in Ghana?
Cross-Sectional (n=1,106)
Yes
Are cardiometabolic risk factors such as hypertension associated with preclinical target organ damage in adults in Ghana?
Odds Ratio: 5.28 (95% CI 2.55–12.11)
Absolute Event Rate: 9.3% vs 1.8%
This study highlights the high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in Ghana and their strong association with early target organ damage, underscoring the need for targeted public health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa.
Hypertension was associated with >5-fold LVH odds in Ghanaian adults; leaves open whether control reduces preclinical damage in sub-Saharan populations.
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 hyperuricemia. 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.
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Li et al. (2020) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiometabolic risk factors and preclinical target organ damage (n=1,106). Hypertension vs. No hypertension was evaluated on Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (OR 5.28, 95% CI 2.55-12.11). Hypertension was significantly associated with a over five-fold increased odds of left ventricular hypertrophy (OR 5.28) among adults in Ghana.
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