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Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been the leading causes of hospital admissions in
Tanzania. Hypertension (HTN) and coronary artery diseases (CHD) are two most common
CVDs frequently diagnosed causes of deaths in Tanzanian hospitals. This hospital basedcross-sectional
study conducted to assess lifestyle risk factors and levels of biomarkers for
CVDs in patients with HTN and CHD attending cardiac clinic at Kilimanjaro Christian
Medical Centre-referral hospital. Structured questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographic
characteristics and lifestyle risk factors, while anthropometric measurements
were taken to assess nutritional status of patients. Blood samples were collected from each
patient and analyzed by Cobas Integra and Maglumi analyzers, to detect and quantify
concentration of biomarkers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze socio-demographic,
lifestyle risk factors and studied biomarkers for CVDs. Pearson’s Chi-Square (χ
2
) tests were
used to associate risk factors for HTN and CHD while multinomial logistic regression was
used to determine independent predictors of HTN and CHD. Majority of the patients (65%)
were diagnosed with HTN, and 35% with CHD. The most prevalent risk factors for HTN and
CHD were: alcohol intake (67%), high blood pressure (59%), physical inactivity (61%),
obesity (39%), alanine aminotransferase (43%), high-density lipoprotein (79%), low-density
lipoprotein (65%), C-reactive protein (78%), sodium (41%) and potassium (40%). Moreover,
age (p = 0.007, CI = 0.047-0.612), plasma glucose (p = 0.016, CI = 0.62-0.76), alanine
aminotransferase (p = 0.035, CI = 0.12-0.93), and C-reactive protein (p = 0.018, CI = 0.080.79)
were independently associated with HTN and CHD. The study affirmed higher
exposure of patients to CVDs risk factors despite them being under medical management.
The results herein call for sensitization programs, to include more interventions, such as
health and nutrition education to raise patients’ awareness on lifestyle modifications. |
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