ABO blood group and body mass index (BMI) have individually been appraised as risk factors for certain diseases. From statistical perspective, it may be important to examine the relationship between the ABO blood antigen and BMI. This cross-sectional study involved 412 participants aged 18 to 46 at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. Weight and height of participants were measured for BMI calculation; blood group determination was done using antisera. Blood group O was the most prevalent (51.2%), while Rhesus-positive individuals constituted 90.3%. 6.3% of the participants were obese, while 18.7% were overweight. There was significant (p=0.006) higher prevalence of obesity in females (10.3%) than in males (3.4%). The study did not observe any significant difference by association of ABO blood group with gender (p=0.973), BMI (p=0.307), or Rhesus status (p=0.723). Regarding gender (p=0.400) and BMI (p=0.197), no statistically significant difference was observed between Rhesus blood groups. The prevalence of overweight, obesity, blood type O, and rhesus positive observed among students in this study is largely similar to what has been reported in published studies in Ghana and from other countries. Overweight and obesity were not associated with ABO blood groups or Rhesus in this study.

BackgroundBreast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women and leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, exhibits aggressive behavior in indigenous African women evidenced by high histologic grade tumours with low hormone receptor positivity. Aggressive breast cancers grow quickly, easily metastasize and recur and often have unfavourable outcomes. The current study investigated candidate genes that may regulate tumour aggression in Ghanaian women. We hypothesize that increased expression and function of certain genes other than the widely-held view attributing breast cancer aggression in African populations to their younger population age may be responsible for the aggressive nature of tumours.MethodsEmploying ELISA, we assayed for vimentin and death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) from thawed archived (stored at -80 °C) serum samples obtained from 40 clinically confirmed Ghanaian breast cancer patients and 40 apparently healthy controls. Patients’ clinical records and tumour parameters matching the samples were retrieved from the database of the hospital. ANOVA was used to compare means of serum protein concentration among groups while Chi-square analysis was used for the categorical data sets with p-value ≤0.05 considered significant. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between protein concentration and tumour parameters.ResultsOf the 80 samples, 27 (33.8%) and 53 (66.2%) were from young (<35 years) and old (≥35 years), respectively. Vimentin and DAPK1 concentration were higher in patients than controls with higher levels in “young” age group than “old” age group. Vimentin concentration was highest in grade 3 tumours followed by grade 2 and 1 but that for DAPK1 was not significant. For vimentin, tumour area strongly correlated with tumour grade (r = 0.696, p < 0.05) but weakly correlated with tumour stage (r = 0.420, p < 0.05). Patient’s age correlated with DAPK1 concentration (r = 0.393, p < 0.05). DAPK1 serum levels weakly correlated with cancer duration (r = 0.098, p = 0.27) and tumour size (r = 0.40, p < 0.05).ConclusionSerum concentration of Vimentin and DAPK1 are elevated in Ghanaian breast cancer patients. This may be partly responsible for aggressive nature of the disease among the population. Vimentin and DAPK1 should be explored further as potential breast cancer biomarkers in Africans.

Background One of the most common medical problems associated with pregnancy is hypertension. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), which has been attributable to abnormal placentation may have adverse effects on both mother and foetus if left unchecked. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of this condition and its effect on placental morphology as well as maternal and perinatal outcomes. Materials and methods This was a prospective case-control study, conducted at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Ghana between February 2018 and July 2018. The progression of pregnancy in normotensive and hypertensive pregnant women, and the eventual perinatal outcomes were closely followed. Statistical analysis was performed using IMB-SPSS version 23. Associations were considered significant at p values of ≤ 0.05. Results From a total of 214 deliveries recorded during the period of study, 84 (39.25%) were hypertensives. Forty four (52%) of the hypertensives had preeclampsia, 28 (33.3%) had gestational hypertension, 6 (7.1%) had eclampsia, 4 (4.8%) had chronic hypertension, and 2 (2.4%) had preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension. The frequency of placental haematoma, placental infarction, and placental calcification in the normotensives were significantly (p = 0.001) lower than that of the hypertensives. The mean placental weight (p = 0.01), placental volume (p = 0.001), placental diameter (p = 0.03), and placental thickness (p = 0.001) of the normotensives were significantly higher than those of the hypertensives. The number of normotensives in whom labour was induced, who had their babies delivered by caesarean section, and who were admitted after they had given birth were significantly (p = 0.001) lower than that of hypertensives who underwent similar procedures. No stillbirths were recorded in the normotensives compared with four in the hypertensives. The number of babies delivered to the normotensives who were admitted to the NICU was significantly (p = 0.001) lower than those delivered by hypertensives. Conclusion There was a high prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in the study site. Pregnant women who developed HDP are at a risk of developing placental abnormalities that adversely affected perinatal outcomes. These adverse effects can be curtailed by embarking on a vigorous health education drive.

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