Author(s)

Fiona E. Strasserking^1*, Roger J. Bick¹, James B. W. Russell², Yong-Jian Geng¹

¹McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, Houston, Texas, USA.
²Ministry of Health, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

To document the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in an unstudied community, a survey of 130 participants from different areas of Sierra Leone was performed. The focus was on cardiovascular disease because its prevalence had not been studied and World Health Organization (WHO) reports on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) prevalence were extrapolations and not from actual data. Resting blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, fasting lipid levels and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) were measured. Mean blood pressure in men was slightly lower than in women (132/87 mmHg and 139/90 mmHg respectively), mean fasting blood glucose levels were <100 mg/dL in both groups and mean fasting total cholesterol was higher in women than in men (206 mg versus 193.5 mg/dL). Mean fasting low density lipoprotein levels were similar in both groups, 129 mg/dL in men and 133 mg/dL in women. Mean fasting high density cholesterol was 47.2 mg/dL in men and 55.5 mg/dL in women and CIMT values were similar in both groups, with 60% above the 75th percentile. This study demonstrated a prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in this population with mean BP placing both men and women in pre-hypertension or stage 1 hypertension ranges and elevated mean low density lipoprotein levels. Fasting total cholesterol, blood glucose and high density lipoprotein were within normal ranges. Mean CIMT values for men and women placed them at risk for subclinical atherosclerosis.

Cardiac Disease, Lifestyle, Non-Communicable Diseases, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Background

Strasserking, F. , Bick, R. , Russell, J. and Geng, Y. (2016) A Cross-Sectional Survey to Determine the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in an Understudied Population in Sierra Leone. World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases, 6, 21-29. doi: 10.4236/wjcd.2016.61004.