Dyspepsias among the highlanders of Nigeria: an epidemiological survey.
An epidemiological survey of the dyspepsias in a Nigerian Community drawn from five different local government areas, is described. Analysis of the data obtained from 1,151 respondents (684 males and 467 females) showed that 45.0% of this population had complaints of dyspepsia within the immediate six months period preceeding this study. The relevance of the independent variables as age, sex, marital status, family size, place of abode, number of meals per day, type of staple food consumed, self-medication and presence of melaena stool to the prevalence of dyspepsia was statistically analysed using the Chi-square test method. The family size (P < 0.05), occupational scatter (P < 0.001), type of staple food consumed (P < 0.05), presence of melaena stool (P < 0.01) and indulgence in self-medication (P < 0.001) were found to be the most significant variables. Since the vast majority of subjects with complaints of dyspepsia are to be encountered by general practitioners at the Primary Health Care level, it is hoped that the findings will go a long way towards evolving a more meaningful management strategy for this subset of subjects.
Ihezue
C H
CH
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Jos.
Oluwole
F S
FS
Onuminya
J E
JE
Okoronkwo
M O
MO
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000531:Altitude; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires