Associations of low-carb diets with glycaemic control and diabetic complications among adult Ghanaians: the RODAM study.

Purpose: We aimed to determine the associations of low-carb diets with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and diabetes complications among Ghanaian adults, who traditionally rely on carbohydrate-dense diets and experience a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Methods: This analysis used baseline data of the multi-centre RODAM (Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants) Study among Ghanaian adults (N = 5,898; 18-96 years) living in Ghana and Europe. Energy (kcal/d) and macronutrient intakes (energy%) were computed from the semi-quantitative Ghana Food Propensity Questionnaire.

Feasibility and impact of a patient support group care model on diabetes and hypertension care in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: A support group care model including self-financing is a promising strategy to improve care for patients with diabetes or hypertension in resource-constrained settings.

Objectives: We investigated the uptake, feasibility, and impact of a self-financing patient support group care model on cardiometabolic parameters among adult patients with uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.

Methods: A two-group prospective quasi-experimental study was conducted.

Drivers and solutions to unhealthy food consumption by adolescents in urban slums, Kenya: a qualitative participatory study.

Objective: To explore the perceptions, drivers and potential solutions to the consumption of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods (UPF) and foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) and their contribution to the double burden of malnutrition among adolescents living in urban slums, Kenya.

Design: Qualitative participatory research, through Photovoice, group discussions and community dialogues. Inductive, thematic analysis was undertaken.

Predicting complications in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: external validation of a prognostic model for adverse perinatal outcomes.

Background: Prediction models can be used as simple evidence-based tools to identify fetuses at risk of perinatal death. Payne et al developed a prognostic model for perinatal death in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, a leading cause of maternal/fetal morbidity and mortality.

Objective: This study aimed to externally validate the predictive performance of this model in pregnant women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy admitted between 26 and 34 weeks of gestation in Ghana.

Climate, Air Quality and Their Contribution to Cardiovascular Disease Morbidity and Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Increasing exposure to climatic features is strongly linked to various adverse health outcomes and mortality. While the link between these features and cardiovascular outcomes is well established, most studies are from high-income countries.

Objectives: This review synthesizes evidence as well as research gaps on the relationship between climate indicators, household/ambient air pollution, and all-cause cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Associated With Poor Diet Quality and Nutrient Intake Among Adolescents in Urban Slums, Kenya.

Objectives: To assess the caloric contribution of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), factors associated with UPFs energy intake and investigate the relationship between UPFs energy intake, diet quality and nutrient intake among adolescents in urban slums, Kenya.

Methods: A cross-sectional household study amongst adolescents (10-19 years, N = 621) collected socio-demographic and dietary intake data. Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS); mean and percentage total energy intake (%TEI) from UPFs; and nutrient intakes were computed.

Patterns and factors associated with healthcare utilisation in Cambodia: a cross-sectional study based on the World Health Survey Plus 2023.

Background: The Cambodian government aims to boost healthcare utilisation in public facilities and reduce the spending burden for disadvantaged households. This study aims to describe patterns of public and private outpatient and inpatient healthcare use and investigate the factors associated with public healthcare usage in Cambodia.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in all provinces in Cambodia, including the capital, Phnom Penh.

Elevated blood glucose and unfavourable tuberculosis treatment outcomes in a low-income setting: findings from a prospective cohort study in Eswatini.

Introduction: The increasing burden of diabetes mellitus in low- and middle-income countries negatively impacts tuberculosis control. To understand this dual burden in Eswatini, we describe the prevalence and predictors of elevated baseline blood glucose and unfavourable tuberculosis treatment outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study at 11 health facilities in Eswatini and included adults ≥18 years commencing tuberculosis treatment.

The EU global health strategy: from policy to implementation.

In November 2022, a draft of the next EU Global Health Strategy was published. The European Global Health Research Institutes Network (EGHRIN) of 22 leading European Universities has analysed the Strategy. In this commentary, EGHRIN notes the Strategy's positive commitments to life-course wellbeing, strengthening health systems and combating health threats in an equitable and collaborative manner.

The Association Between HIV-Related Stigma, ART Adherence, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in People Living With HIV.

Introduction: HIV/AIDS continues to be a significant health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, with stigma likely affecting ART adherence, and subsequently viremia, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated the association between stigma, ART adherence, and CVD risk among people living with HIV (PLWH).

Setting: A longitudinal study was conducted among 325 PLWH from the Ndlovu Cohort Study, South Africa.

The association of HIV status and depressive symptoms in the Ndlovu Cohort study.

HIV majorly contributes to the disease burden in South Africa. Depressive symptoms are common in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Few studies compared depressive symptoms between PLHIV and those without HIV.

Country-Specific Roadmaps for Scaling Up Integrated Care in Belgium, Slovenia, and Cambodia - Lessons Learned from the SCUBY Project.

Introduction: The SCUBY project aimed to provide knowledge on the scaling-up of an Integrated Care Package (ICP) for type 2 diabetes and hypertension across three distinct health systems (Cambodia, Slovenia, and Belgium). Here, we analyse the different elements of the country-specific scale-up roadmaps to identify similarities and differences, and share lessons learned.

Methods: Thematic analysis was used to derive crucial roadmap elements from key SCUBY documents (n = 20), including policy briefs, interim reports, research outputs, and consortium meeting notes.

Green space visits among Turkish and South Asian Surinamese women with a high cardiometabolic risk living in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Netherlands: motives, means and prerequisites.

Background: The use of urban green spaces differs by social characteristics, including gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position. We examined motives, means and prerequisites to visit green space of marginalised populations with high cardiometabolic risk in the Netherlands, namely women with a Turkish or South Asian Surinamese background residing in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Methods: We conducted six focus group discussions in two Dutch cities.

Lessons Learnt from HIV and Noncommunicable Disease Healthcare Integration in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a rising burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) coexists with a persistent high burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Integrating care for chronic conditions is potentially beneficial, but the optimal approach remains unclear. By use of a narrative review of 14 recent case studies from different SSA countries, examples of NCD and HIV healthcare integration were described.

Process Evaluations for the Scale-Up of Complex Interventions - a Scoping Review.

Introduction: Complex health interventions (CHIs) are common in (public) health and social care practice and policy. A process evaluation (PE) is an essential part of designing and testing CHIs and questions what is implemented, the mechanisms of change, and how context affects implementation. The scale-up of CHIs is challenging and heterogeneous, making the accompanying PE unique to the nature of the inquiry.

Adolescents' dietary patterns, their drivers and association with double burden of malnutrition in adolescents: a cross-sectional study in Kenya's urban slums.

Background: The double burden of malnutrition (DBM) during adolescence is associated with growth and developmental impairment and risk of non-communicable diseases. There is limited evidence on adolescent's dietary patterns (DPs), and how they contribute to DBM in urban low income contexts in sub Saharan Africa. This study assessed DPs of adolescents, their drivers and association with DBM in Kenya's urban slums.

A comprehensive lifestyle index and its associations with DNA methylation and type 2 diabetes among Ghanaian adults: the rodam study.

Background: A series of modifiable lifestyle factors, such as diet quality, physical activity, alcohol intake, and smoking, may drive the rising burden of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) among sub-Saharan Africans globally. It is unclear whether epigenetic changes play a mediatory role in the associations between these lifestyle factors and T2DM. We assessed the associations between a comprehensive lifestyle index, DNA methylation and T2DM among Ghanaian adults.

Integrating hypertension detection and management in HIV care in South Africa: protocol for a stepped-wedged cluster randomized effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial.

Background: HIV clinical guidelines recommend hypertension detection and management to lower cardiovascular disease risk, but these have not been effectively implemented for people living with HIV (PWH). Addressing this implementation gap requires community-engaged implementation studies focused on addressing implementation barriers specific to the HIV care context.

Methods: This protocol describes a type 2 effectiveness-implementation hybrid study conducted in nine primary care clinics in Johannesburg.

Development and validation of a prognostic model to predict birth weight: individual participant data meta-analysis.

Objective: To predict birth weight at various potential gestational ages of delivery based on data routinely available at the first antenatal visit.

Design: Individual participant data meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Individual participant data of four cohorts (237 228 pregnancies) from the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications (IPPIC) network dataset.

Hypertension knowledge, attitudes and perceptions among adults in the Navrongo Health and Demographic Surveillance Site: a mixed methods analysis.

Background: This study assessed knowledge, behaviors, and perceptions towards hypertension following community dissemination on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk within the Navrongo Health and Demographic Surveillance Site in Northern Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional mixed methods study was conducted among middle aged men and women following education on CVD and their risk factors. Knowledge and attitudes of participants regarding hypertension were measured in 310 participants using a survey tool and the resultant data was analyzed with descriptive statistics.