Association between socioeconomic status and adiposity in urban Cameroon.

BACKGROUND: As the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity may depend on the stage of development of a country, this relation is assessed in adults from urban Cameroon. METHODS: A sample comprising 1530 women and 1301 men aged 25 years and above, from 1897 households in the Biyem-Assi health area in the capital of Cameroon, Yaoundé, were interviewed about their household amenities, occupation, and education. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured and subjects were classified as obese if their BMI>or=30 kg/m2 or overweight if BMI was between 25.0 and 29.9 kg/m2. Abdominal obesity was defined by a waist circumference>or=80 cm in women and>or=94 cm in men. RESULTS: Of the sample studied 33% of women and 30% of men were overweight (P<0.08), whereas 22% of women and 7% of men were obese (P<0.001). Abdominal obesity was present in 67% of women and 18% of men (P<0.001). After adjusting for age, leisure time physical activity, alcohol consumption, and tobacco smoking, the prevalence of overweight+obesity, obesity, and abdominal obesity increased with quartiles of household amenities in both genders and with occupational level in men. CONCLUSION: SES is positively associated with adiposity in urban Cameroon after adjusting for confounding factors.

Poststroke hyperglycemia: natural history and immediate management.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Poststroke hyperglycemia (PSH) is a frequent finding for which there is currently no evidence to justify routine treatment. The United Kingdom Glucose Insulin in Stroke Trial (GIST-UK) is the only trial of glucose modulation in acute stroke from which evidence can be derived for the immediate management of PSH. Using safety-monitoring data from the trial we aimed to describe the immediate recovery of PSH in treated and control patients, thus providing evidence for the use of glucose/potassium/insulin (GKI) infusions as a means of maintaining euglycemia. METHODS: GIST-UK is a multicenter randomized controlled trial of GKI or saline infusions in acute stroke patients presenting with mild to moderate hyperglycemia (admission plasma glucose, 6.0 to 17 mmol). We analyzed the capillary BM and plasma glucose values in the 2 treatment groups to describe the recovery of PSH and the effectiveness of the GIST treatment regimen in maintaining euglycemia. RESULTS: The majority of patients have only moderate PSH (mean plasma glucose, 8.37+/-SD 2.13). Without specific intervention, mean plasma glucose levels decline spontaneously. Treatment with the GIST GKI regimen rapidly achieved euglycemia at significantly lower levels than with saline hydration alone. Euglycemia was achieved with a median of 2 changes to the GKI regimen and a low risk of hypoglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: GKI infusions as described in the GIST trial are a safe and effective means of correcting PSH and maintaining euglycemia in the acute phase of stroke. The clinical benefits of routine management of hyperglycemia remain to be determined.