title: Clustering of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia in a Nigerian population: a cross sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases has grievous implications on overall morbidity and mortality. There is however relative paucity of this information among the Nigerian population. This study was aimed at defining the prevalence of the clustering of hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM) and dyslipidemia (DYSL) in a Nigerian teaching hospital outpatient clinics population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross sectional study of patients managed at the hypertension and diabetes clinics of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria between January and December 2008. The baseline demographic characteristics, blood pressures, blood sugars and fasting lipid profiles were obtained retrospectively from hospital records. Using the standard criteria for the diagnosis of HT, DM and DYSL, the prevalence of these conditions and their respective clusters were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 506 patients were seen over this period, male; 234 (46.2%), female; 272(53.8%) with mean age of 57.35 (1.28) years. The prevalence of HT, DM and DYSL were 85%, 39.5% and 58.9% respectively. Concurrent HT and DYSL was the most prevalent cluster found in 146 patients (28.9%), followed by the clustering of the three co-morbidities of HT, DM and DYSL in 124 patients (24.5%).Other clusters were DM+HT; 49 (9.7%), DM+DYSL;13 (2.6%). 41.2% of the population had the clustering of at least two co-morbidities and about a quarter had the three conditions coexisting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a significant burden of the cardiovascular risk factors occurring in clusters in the Nigerian population studied. This calls for purposeful measures to control these risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Lagos State University College of Medicine and Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. yinkabode@yahoo.com
authors.forename: O O
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Ogunleye
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Ogundele
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Akinyemi
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Ogbera
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D015897:Comorbidity; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution