[Ageing and chronic diseases in Senegal. A comparison between rural (Ferlo) and urban (Dakar) populations]. / Vieillissement et pathologies chroniques au Sénégal. Comparaison entre des populations vivant en milieu rural (Ferlo) et urbain (Dakar).

The objectives of this study were: to compare the prevalence of hypertension, overweight and obesity in rural (Ferlo) and urban (Dakar) Senegalese populations aged 50 and over. The survey was conducted on individuals aged 50 and older living in the rural area (N=478) and in the urban area (N=220). We have collected data about age, gender, marital status, education level, and knowledge, treatment of hypertension, height, weight and blood pressure. We have observed that overweight and obesity were more prevalent in the urban area (Dakar) than in the rural one (Ferlo). The risk of overweight or obesity decreased when age increased, and women had weight problems more often than men. The prevalence of arterial hypertension was lower in rural area (55.86%) than in Dakar (66.36%), but increased at an older age. However, the logistic regression showed that these increased proportion of hypertension in Dakar is linked to the more important proportion of overweight and obese people in this area. Moreover, rates of knowledge, treatment and control of hypertension are particularly low in the rural area of Senegal. In conclusion, age-associated diseases should be better managed in Senegal, particularly in rural areas.

Prevalence of diabetes and associated risk factors in a Senegalese urban (Dakar) population.

AIM: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of diabetes in the urban population living in Dakar, Senegal, and to investigate the factors associated with diabetes. METHODS: Data from a 2009 survey of 600 individuals, aged 20 years or above and considered representative of the population of the city of Dakar, were evaluated. Socioeconomic characteristics, hypertension, capillary whole blood glucose, and weight and height measurements of these subjects were collected during face-to-face interviews. The statistical analyses used chi-square (chi2) tests and binary logistic regressions. RESULTS: The percentage of participants with fasting blood glucose levels greater than or equal to 1.10 g/L and/or currently being treated for diabetes was 17.9% (n=107, 95% CI: 14.7-20.8). Observed rates of diabetes were significantly higher among women (chi2 = 6.3; P < 0.05), in subjects aged > 40 years (chi2=33.6; P < 0.001), in those with low educational levels (chi2=11.9; P < 0.05) and in those with hypertension (chi2 = 13.9; P < 0.001), and in those who were overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and < 30 kg/m2) or obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2; chi2=40.3; P < 0.001). After adjusting for gender, age, educational level, BMI and blood pressure, the results showed that gender, age and BMI were associated with diabetes: women, older people and those with a higher BMI had significantly greater chances of being diabetic than the rest of the population, whatever their blood pressure and educational level. CONCLUSION: Diabetes is becoming a pressing public-health problem in Senegal, and the major risk factors for the increasing diabetes prevalence in the city of Dakar are gender, age and body mass index.

Obesity, overweight and body-weight perception in a High Atlas Moroccan population.

In order to study the prevalence of obesity and overweight and to understand how the human body is perceived among Moroccan mountain populations, we carried out a survey that covered a sample of 436 Amazigh individuals aged 20 years and more from the High Moroccan Atlas. Through this survey, we noticed that obesity is still low among men (2.4%), whereas the prevalence of obesity among women is alarming and reaches 13.3%. The prevalence of overweight is also high, especially among women, with 32.8% vs. 21.8% among men. Obesity prevalence, especially overweight, is higher than that recorded in the national rural level. The high prevalence of overweight that can develop to obesity should be taken into account mainly when dealing with women that still value overweight. In fact, women in our sample underestimate their overweight more than men and wish to have a heavier body.