Pattern of Abdominal Adiposity and its Association with Hypertension and Prediabetes in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Aims: To determine pattern of abdominal adiposity and its association with prediabetes and hypertension.

Study Design: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso and the data was collection between September and October, 2014.

Methodology: A total of 121 participants were recruited using the systematic random sampling. A standardized questionnaire was administered to obtain the socio-demographic, physical activity and clinical parameters. Physical measurements of waist circumferences were done using a flexible tape rule. Blood pressure measurement was done with a mercury sphygmomanometer and a Littman’s stethoscope. Biochemical measurements of fasting plasma glucose and 2 hour post prandial plasma glucose test were determined using the enzymatic method.

Results: The prevalence of abdominal obesity among the participants was 40.5%. The prevalence among the female was 54.0% and among the male was 5.9% (p˂0.001). The prevalence of prediabetes among the participants who had abdominal obesity was 16.3% while it was 8.5% among the participants who had normal abdominal adiposity (p=0.624). The prevalence of hypertension among the participants who had abdominal obesity was 55.1% while it was 21.3% among the participants who normal abdominal adiposity.

Conclusion: The prevalence of abdominal obesity (40.5%) found among our study participants was high. There was a statistically significant association between abdominal obesity and hypertension. The prevalence of prediabetes was found to be higher in participants who had abdominal obesity (16.3%) than those with normal abdominal fat (8.5%), though the association was not statistically significant.