Relationship between waist circumference and cholesterol in Central Africans with congestive heart failure.

BACKGROUND

There are controversies as to what the traditional risk factors for coronary heart disease should be in sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the relationship between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk factors including Helicobacter pylori infection in black Africans with congestive heart failure.

METHOD: A cross-sectional and observational study of 48 men and 52 women.

RESULTS

Congestive heart failure was associated with abdomal obesity, hypertension, chronic renal failure, moderate levels of low HDL-C, excessive alcohol intake and hyperuricaemia, but low levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. TC was related by Univariate analysis with red cells, glucose, weight, waist circumference with HDL-C, CRP, fibrinogen and IgG antibodies against H pylori. Multivariate analysis revealed that waist circumference (B=0.688) and HDL-C (B=0.826) were the significant determinants of TC. There was a respective U-shaped relationship between CVD (P>0.05), chronic renal failure (P<0.05) H. pylori-induced chronic gastritis (P<0.05) and the HDL-categories. Ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction were significantly (p<0.05) associated with low HDL-C, respectively. Clinical insulin resistance (P<0.01) was predominantly more commonin the intermediate HDL-C category than in low and high HDL-categories. There was an inverse relation between lower TC: HDL-C ratio, high HDL-C and abdominal obesity/ insulin resistance in men. H. pylori gastritis was positively related to higher TC: HDL-C ratio in both men and women.

CONCLUSION

Preventive measures, more studies on the interplay between HDL-C level and its function and a specific ethnic dfinition of metabolic syndrome in the African are needed.