BackgroundTobacco smoking is a public health issue and has been implicated in adverse reproductive outcomes including semen quality. Available data however provides conflicting findings. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of tobacco smoking on semen quality among men in Ghana.MethodsIn this study, a total of 140 subjects were recruited, comprising 95 smokers and 45 non-smokers. Smokers were further categorized into mild, moderate and heavy smokers. Semen parameters such as sperm concentration, motility, viability and normal morphology were measured according to the World Health Organisation criteria.ResultsThe study showed that smokers had significantly lower semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility, total sperm count, sperm morphology, free testosterone and follicle stimulating hormone (p <0.05 respectively), compared with non-smokers. Smokers were at a higher risk of developing oligospermia, asthenozoospermia and teratozoospermia (OR = 3.1, 4.2 and, 4.7; p <0.05) than non-smokers.ConclusionResults demonstrated a decline in semen quality in a dose dependent tobacco smoking manner.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12978-016-0207-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ObjectiveShift work has been implicated in cardiovascular disease (CVD), a major cause of death globally. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of developing CVD in shift work.DesignA cross-sectional study involving secondary analysis of shift and non-shift work from an industry in Ghana.ParticipantsTwo hundred (113 shift and 87 non-shift) consecutive workers who consented were recruited into the study. A structured questionnaire was administered to deduce information on participant’s age, alcohol consumption pattern, smoking habits, history of diabetes, stroke and hypertension.ResultsShift workers were found to be associated with higher body mass index (26.9 ± 4.6 vs 25.2 ± 3.3, p = 0.013); fasting blood glucose (5.9 ± 1.8 vs 5.3 ± 0.8, p ≤ 0.0001); glycated haemoglobin (4.9 ± 0.9 vs 4.2 ± 0.8, p ≤ 0.0001); high sensitivity C-reactive protein (2.5 ± 1.1 vs 1.8 ± 1.1, p < 0.0001); total cholesterol (5.9 ± 1.3 vs 5.2 ± 1.7, p = 0.002); triglycerides (1.3 ± 0.8 vs 1.1 ± 0.6, p = 0.015) and LDL cholesterol (3.6 ± 0.9 vs 3.2 ± 1.3, p = 0.04) than controls. Shift work however, had no associations with HDL-cholesterol.ConclusionIt can be concluded that shift work is associated with risk factors of CVD.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1750-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

objective Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has considerably reduced HIV/AIDSrelated morbidity and mortality; however, the therapy has been associated with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and genetic predisposition factors may aggravate disease outcome. This study was aimed at investigating the relationship between haptoglobin phenotypes and risk factors of CVD in HIV patients.methods A total of 105 HIV sero-positive patients on HAART and 75 HIV-infected HAART-na€ ıve individuals were enrolled in the study. Socio-demographics and clinical characteristics of the participants were obtained using a well-structured questionnaire. Lipid profile, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and haptoglobin (Hp) phenotypes were analysed from serum whiles haemoglobin (Hb) level, CD4 + cell count and HIV viral RNA load were determined using whole blood.results Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) was significantly higher in patients on HAART than the na€ ıve group (P < 0.05). Age, BMI, visceral fat, systolic blood pressure LDH and lipid variables strongly and positively correlated with AIP (P < 0.05), with the exception of HDL-c (P < 0.001) which showed a negative correlation. HAART was associated with hypertension (v 2 = 4.33, P = 0.037), hypercholesterolaemia (v 2 = 10.99, P < 0.001), elevated LDL-c (v 2 = 10.30, P < 0.001) and decreased HDL-c (v 2 = 3.87, P = 0.09). Hp2-2 and Hp0 collectively was strongly associated with hypertension (OR = 2.54, P = 0.011), obesity (OR = 5.97, P < 0.001) and hypercholesterolaemia (OR = 2.99, P < 0.001).

Renal tubular lysosomal enzyme activities like alanine aminopeptidase (AAP) and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) have been shown to increase in patients developing diabetic nephropathy and nephrosclerosis. This study aimed to determine the activities of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and alanine aminopeptidase and albumin concentration in urine samples of patients with type 2 diabetes. One hundred and thirty (65 type 2 diabetic and 65 nondiabetic) subjects participated in this study. Blood samples were drawn for measurements of fasting blood glucose, albumin (Alb), lipids, and creatinine (Cr). Early morning spot urine samples were also collected for activities of alanine aminopeptidase (AAP), N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), and concentration of albumin (U-Alb) and creatinine (U-Cr). Both NAG/Cr and AAP/Cr were significantly increased in diabetic subjects compared to controls (p < 0.001). There was positive correlation between NAG/Cr and Alb/Cr (r = 0.49, p < 0.001) and between NAG/Cr and serum creatinine (r = 0.441, p < 0.001). A negative correlation was found between NAG/Cr and eGFR (r = −0.432, p < 0.05). 9.3% and 12% of diabetics with normoalbuminuria had elevated levels of AAP/Cr and NAG/Cr, respectively. We conclude that measuring the urinary enzymes activities (NAG/Cr and AAP/Cr) could be useful as a biomarker of early renal involvement in diabetic complications.