There is palpable evidence that sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a demographic transition. Little is known about the predictors of cardiometabolic risk among the elderly segment of African population. This study aimed at assessing predictors of cardiometabolic risks among typical African elders.
A cross-sectional, community-based study was done among Ubungo Msewe residents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Information on weight, height, fasting glycaemia, 2-hours post-prandial glycaemia, resting electrocardiogram, sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressures were performed. Continuous data were summarized using median (IQR) while categorical data were summarized using frequency (%). Generalised linear model was used to ascertain different association between variables. Chronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to estimate the reliability index. A verbal informed consent was sought from each participant prior to inclusion into the study.
A total of 472 participants were recruited for screening. All participants were black Africans by race. Median age was 67 (IQR: 63-71) years. Male: Female = 1:3.1. There was a significant correlation between gender and blood pressure (γ = 0.52, p=0.000). BMI, 2-hour post-prandial glycaemia, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significant predictors of cardiometabolic risks (chronbach’s α = 0.77, p=0.000) There was a significant correlation (γ=0.61, p=.02) between age and reported previous adverse cardiovascular events.
BMI, post-prandial glucose stress test and blood pressure significantly predicted the risk of cardiometabolic risks in this study population. Female gender was a significant predictor of blood pressure in this study population.