Key result
Apparently healthy Nigerian adolescents exhibit low HDL-C in ~33% of cases.
Why the study?
The lipid profiles of apparently healthy adolescents in Calabar, Nigeria, were not well characterized despite changing lifestyles in the region.
Cross-Sectional (n=375)
No
The lipid profiles of Nigerian adolescents are generally low but show a high prevalence of low HDL-C and borderline elevations in other lipids, suggesting a potential future increase in arteriosclerosis risk.
High low-HDL-C prevalence in Nigerian adolescents warrants awareness; hypothesis-generating for longitudinal CVD risk studies before any practice change.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the lipid profiles of adolescents in Calabar, Nigeria. DESIGN: A cross sectional prospective study. SETTING: The study was carried out in Calabar, a city located on the south-eastern axis of Nigeria. Calabar is rapidly acquiring the status of a tourism destination in the country and as such the lifestyles of the city dwellers are changing rapidly. SUBJECTS: The subjects were apparently healthy students 10 to 18 years old attending day secondary schools in the city. A structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic and anthropometric data from the students. Blood samples were collected from 375 adolescents and used for analyzing their lipid profiles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Abnormal levels of serum lipids. RESULTS: The results showed that only one subject (0.3%) had an abnormally high total cholesterol (TC) level and 33% of the subjects had low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Borderline high levels of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) were found in 2.4%, 3.2% and 5.1% of subjects respectively. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the lipid profiles of Nigerians are low but gradually rising towards values seen in places where coronary heart disease occurs in epidemic proportions. This may point to an increased risk ofarteriosclerosis in future generations.
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Odey et al. (2010) conducted a cross-sectional in Apparently healthy adolescents (n=375). Apparently healthy adolescents in Calabar, Nigeria, exhibited low HDL-C in 33% of cases, and borderline high total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglycerides in 2.4%, 3.2%, and 5.1%, respectively.
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