Assessment of the Prevalence of Some Cardiovascular Risk Factors among the Ogonis and Ikwerres in Rivers State, Nigeria

The prevalence of some cardiovascular risk factors among the Ogonis and Ikwerres in Rivers State, Nigeria was assessed in two hundred subjects. Well structured questionnaires were used to assess smoking status, duration of diabetes, age, weight, and height from the participants. Measurement of blood pressure was done to ascertain the blood pressure of the subjects. Analysis of fasting blood sugar was done to confirm diabetes status of participants. Body mass index (BMI), was calculated from the height and weight. The mean age of males in the study was higher than that of the females (P=.05). Mean SBP and DBP values were significantly higher (P=.05) among the Ikwerres and Ogonis. BMI was significantly higher for Ogonis than Ikwerres (P=.05). In the various categories of risk, BMI for males was diabetics (47.89), smokers (44.73) and hypertensives (45.37) for type III obesity which shows a higher risk for cardiovascular disease.