Pattern of specific comorbidities and the association with overweight and obesity in adults attending a tertiary hospital in Rivers State, Nigeria (original) (raw)

Aims: Overweight and obesity constitute a major risk to the development of chronic non communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemias, osteoarthritis which in turn impact on the individual, the family and the community. This study explored specific comorbidities associated with overweight and obesity among adults attending the Family Medicine Clinic of a tertiary health centre in Nigeria. Methods: This was a descriptive hospital-based study. A combination of structured questionnaires, physical examination and laboratory analysis were used to generate appropriate data. The information was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Chi square (x2) and Fisher’s exact test were used to investigate the association between variables and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 44.9±13.8years. Females constituted the majority (64.4%) with a female to male ratio of 1.8:1. While 55 ...