Background: Studies investigating the prevalence of hypertension and its correlation with anthropometric indices among adolescents are still scarce compared to those conducted in adults of greater than 40 years. So far, no other study estimating the prevalence and correlates of hypertension among adolescents in Uganda has been found. Objective: The purpose of this study, therefore, was to asses the prevalence of hypertension and its correlation with anthropometric indices among adolescents in Mbarara Municipality, southwestern Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 616 secondary school adolescents aged 12-19 years in Mbarara Municipality, Uganda. Blood pressure and anthropometric indices were determined by standard methods. In the statistical analysis, linear regression analysis was done to assess the relationship between blood pressure and anthropometric indices. Results: Overall prevalence of hypertension among adolescents was at 3.1% (n = 19) while prehypertension was 7.1% (n = 44). There was a statistically significant correlation between blood pressure, neck circumference, waist to hip ratio and body mass index at bivariate analysis. In multivariate analysis for anthropometric indices and sex, only neck circumference remained significantly correlated with blood pressure (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of hypertension among adolescents in the study setting was low. An increase in neck circumference results in an increase in blood pressure among adolescents.

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High resting pulse rate (RPR) is associated with adverse cardiovascular events, and could be used as a marker of cardiovascular health. We determined the correlation between RPR and blood pressure (BP); and its accuracy in defining high blood pressure among adolescents attending secondary schools in Mbarara municipality, southwestern Uganda. We conducted a cross-sectional study among secondary school adolescents aged 12-19 years in Mbarara municipality, Uganda. We captured demographic characteristics using a structured questionnaire; and measured anthropometric indices and BP. We performed a linear regression analysis to determine the relationship between RPR and blood pressure and plotted receiver operating characteristics curves (ROC) to assess the accuracy of RPR in defining high BP. We enrolled 616 adolescents with a mean age of 15.6±2.0 years and 65.6% (404/616) were female. The RPR was significantly correlated with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in both boys (Beta = 0.22 [95%CI: 0.10; 0.36]), p<0.001 and girls (Beta = 0.51 [95%CI: 0.43; 0.60]), p<0.001. RPR was significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) only in the girls (Beta = 0.23 [95%CI: 0.15; 0.30]), p<0.001. The optimal threshold for RPR in defining prehypertension was RPR≥76bpm with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.653[95%CI: 0.583-0.722], the sensitivity of 0.737 and specificity of 0.577. In defining hypertension, the optimal threshold was RPR ≥ 79bpm at a sensitivity of 0.737 and specificity of 0.719, with an AUC of 0.728[95%CI: 0.624-0.831]. Resting pulse rate was positively correlated with BP and was more accurate in defining hypertension compared to prehypertension in the study. .

Objectives: To determine the correlation between anthropometric indices and the selected hemodynamic parameters among secondary adolescents aged 12-17 years.Results: Our findings showed weak positive correlation between generally body surface area, neck circumference and conicity index with the hemodynamic parameters (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, resting pulse rate, mean arterial pressure, rate pressure product and pulse pressure). However, the ponderosity index, body mass index and waist hip ratio showed negative weak correlations with the hemodynamic parameters. There was a significant difference in pulse pressure among the BMI categories. All parameters showed significant (p<0.05) differences across the categories of neck circumference and waist hip ratio. Generally, in multivariate regression analysis, anthropometric indices showed significant prediction of the hemodynamic parameters.

Background: M. oleifera is a highly valued medicinal plant used widely from time immemorial to treat various ailments. However, with continued un-standardized use of the plant leaves, studies have reported organ toxicity to the liver, kidney and the heart. As communities continue to use M. oleifera leaves for its medicinal and nutritional values, there is need to find an antidote for its hepatotoxicity. Aim: The study established the reversal effect of N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) on M. oleifera aqueous leaf extract-induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar albino rats. Methods: Twenty-four (24) rats received a toxic dose (8.05 g/kg bwt) of M. oleifera leaf extract for 28 days to cause sub-acute hepatotoxicity. They were divided into 4 groups of 6 rats each. Group I received 1 ml normal (control group), Group II received 1000 ng/kg NAC, Group III received 1200 mg/kg NAC and Group IV received 1500 mg/kg NAC. Another group of 6 rats (Group V) received 0.75 mg/kg Paracetamol to cause hepatotoxicity. Group V (a positive control) received the prescribed clinical dose of 1200 mg/kg NAC which reverses the hepatotoxicity. All the NAC doses were given once a day intragastric for 7 days. On days: 1, 3 and 7 of receiving NAC, liver serum enzymes and bilirubin were measured. On day 7 the animals were sacrificed and liver tissue harvested for histopathology analysis. Results: A dose of 8.05 g/kg of M. oleifera leaf extract and 0.75 mg/kg Paracetamol were able to induce hepatotoxicity in Wister albino rats in 28 days. The M. oleifera