To assess the association between periodontal diseases and cardiovascular diseases in dental patients in Cameroon, a prospective observational study was carried out in 3 hospitals in Cameroon from January 2013 to December 2015. Data on general condition, age, gender and lifestyle were collected during medical history taking. The Dutch Periodontal Screening Index assessed periodontal health during oral examination. The Wilcoxon test, the Fisher test and logistic regression analysis were performed. 558 patients (53.9% women) were included in the study. The mean age was 44±13 years (30 to 85). In terms of overall health, 161 (28.9%) had cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and 73 (13.1%) had diabetes. Hypertension accounted for 87.6% of CVD. In terms of periodontal diseases (PD), 431 (77.2%) patients had PD, the break-down by PD was 347 (62.2%) gingivitis and 84 (15%) periodontitis. Statistical associations were found between CVD and gingivitis [OR=4.30 (1.85-10.00), P=0.001], and CVD and periodontitis [OR=2.87 (1.04-7.93); P=0.04].

Background Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading causes of death worldwide. They were responsible for 40 million of the 57 million deaths recorded worldwide in 2016. In Cameroon, epidemiological studies have been devoted to NCDs and their risk factors. However, none provides specific information on their extent or the distribution of their risk factors within the Cameroonian defense forces. Objective The objective of our study was to assess the cardiovascular risk of a Cameroonian military population compared with that of its neighboring civilian population. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study that involved subjects aged 18 to 58 years, recruited from October 2017 to November 2018 at the Fifth Military Sector Health Center in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. Data collection and assessment were done according to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s STEPS manual for surveillance of risk factors for chronic NCDs and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Five cardiovascular risk factors were assessed: smoking, harmful alcohol consumption, obesity/overweight, hypertension, and diabetes. The risk was considered high in subjects with 3 or more of the factors. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were carried out according to their indications. Results Our study sample of 566 participants included 295 soldiers and 271 civilians of the same age group (median age 32 years versus 33 years, respectively; P=.57). The military sample consisted of 31 officers and 264 noncommissioned officers (NCOs). Soldiers were more exposed to behavioral risk factors than civilians, with a prevalence of smoking of 13.9% versus 4.4% (P<.001) and excessive alcohol consumption of 61.7% versus 14.8% (P<.001). They also presented with a higher cardiovascular risk than civilians (odds ratio 2.7, 95% CI 1.50-4.81; P<.001), and among the military participants, the cardiovascular risk was higher for officers than for NCOs (51.6% versus 14.0%, respectively; P<.001). Conclusions Cameroonian soldiers are particularly exposed to cardiovascular behavioral risk factors and consequently are at higher risk of NCDs. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04315441; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04315441

BACKGROUND NCDs are the leading cause of death worldwide. They are responsible for 38 million out of the 56 million deaths recorded worldwide. In Cameroon, epidemiological studies have been devoted to NCDs and their risk factors. However, none of them provides specific information on the extent of NCDs and/or the distribution of their risk factors within the Cameroonian defense forces. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to assess the cardiovascular risk of a Cameroonian military population and compare it to the cardiovascular risk of the neighboring civilian population. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study that involved subjects aged from 18 to 58 years, recruited from October 2017 to November 2018 at the Fifth Military Sector Health Center in Ngaoundéré. Data collection and assessment was done according to World Health Organization STEPS manual for surveillance of risk factors of Non-communicable chronic diseases; and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Five cardiovascular risk factors were assessed, smoking, harmful alcohol consumption, obesity/overweight, hypertension and diabetes. Cardiovascular risk was considered high in subjects with three or more cardiovascular risk factors. Univariates analysis and multivariate logistic regression were carried out according to their indications. RESULTS We carried out a sample of 566 subjects made up of 295 soldiers and 271 civilians of the same age (median ages: 32 years old versus 33 years old; P = .65). The military sample consisted of 31 officers and 264 non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Soldiers were more exposed to cardiovascular behavioral risk factors than civilians. Smoking: 13.90% versus 4.43%; P < .001. Excessive alcohol consumption: 61.69% versus 14.76%; P < .001. Soldiers were more likely to have a high cardiovascular risk than civilians (odd ratio [95% confidence interval] =2.70 [1.50-4.81], P < .001). Officers were more likely to have a higher cardiovascular risk than NCOs (51.61% versus 14.02%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Cameroonian soldiers are particularly exposed to cardiovascular behavioral risk factors. CLINICALTRIAL NCT04315441 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04315441

Background Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. Military population that seemed immune to these pathologies is now as exposed as the general population. The effective response to this public health problem first requires the identification of the level of exposure of populations. Thus, the objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk factors of the Cameroonian military population compared to civilians. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study. It involved subjects aged 18 to 58 years, recruited from October 30, 2017 to November 13, 2018 at the Fifth Military Sector Health Center. Five cardiovascular risk factors were assessed, smoking, harmful alcohol consumption, obesity/overweight, hypertension and diabetes. The STEPwise model proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was used to estimate the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Mann Whitney and Fisher exact tests were used for statistics comparison. Results The study included 489 subjects, 270 military personnel and 219 civilians. The median age of the two populations was not significantly different (30 years versus 33 years, p = 0.6939). The proportion of smokers was higher in the military (12.59% versus 9%, p = 0.0011). Alcoholism was also higher in the military population (60.74% versus 13.24%, p = 0.0000). Similarly, military personnel were more obese than civilians (58.15% versus 40.18%, p = 0.0000). Distribution of hypertension and diabetes was not significantly different between military and civilians (18.15% versus 16.89%, p = 0.8113) and (1.48% versus 3.20%, p = 0.2321) respectively. The proportion of subjects with a high cardiovascular risk was higher in the military (14.81% versus 7.76%, p = 0.0162). Conclusions CVD risk factors are more prevalent in Cameroonian military population than in civilians. This result suggests that, in addition to national preventive campaigns, special attention is needed for military population in Cameroon. Key messages Cardiovascular disease risk factors are more prevalent in Cameroonian military population than in general population. in addition to national preventive campaigns, special attention is needed for military population in Cameroon.