Author(s)

Lifoter Kenneth Navti^1,2, Loveline Lum Niba^2,3, Choumessi Tchewonpi Aphrodite¹, Mary Bih Atanga⁴

¹Department of Biochemistry, The University of Bamenda, Bambili, Cameroon.
²Nutrition and Health Research Group (NHRG), Bamenda, Cameroon.
³Department of Public Health, The University of Bamenda, Bambili, Cameroon.
⁴Department of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Bamenda, Bambili, Cameroon.

Background: Dyslipidemia in childhood contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases later in life. This study sets out to determine the prevalence of dyslipidemia and describe the associations between selected variables and dyslipidemia in Cameroon urban children. Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based study included 415 children (188 boys and 227 girls) between the ages of 5 and 16 years. Dyslipidemia was defined as an abnormal value of one or more of the following lipids: Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Percentage body fat (%BF) was estimated using bio-electric impedance analysis. A structured questionnaire was used by parents to report physical activity, screen time and eating habits of the children. Relationships between predictors and dyslipidemia were assessed using multiple binary logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 46.0%. Dyslipidemic children had significantly higher %BF, TG and LDL-C and lower HDL-C than the normal children (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, obesity (OR 5.2, 95% CI 1.7 - 11.2, p = 0.004), short stature (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.1 - 6.8, p = 0.041), physical activity < 60 minutes/day (OR 4.2, 95% CI 2.3 - 7.5, p < 0.001) and never/occasional consumption of fruits/ vegetables (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.2 - 7.1, p = 0.017) independently predicted dyslipidemia after adjusting for different variables. Conclusion: This study confirms that obesity, short stature, physical activity < 60 minutes/day and never/occasional consumption of fruits/vegetables were associated with dyslipidemia. Also, a high proportion of children had one or more lipid disorders. This is concerning and indicates the importance of assessing dyslipidemia in pre-school children in future studies.

Dyslipidemia, Children, Percentage Body Fat, Stature, Cameroon

Navti, L. , Niba, L. , Aphrodite, C. and Atanga, M. (2022) An Assessment of Predisposing Factors of Atherogenic Dyslipidemia in an Urban Pediatric Population in Cameroon. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 10, 1-18. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2022.107001.