Prevalence of Cameroon Cardiovascular Risk Factors Linked to Severe forms of COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: Several cardiovascular risk factors (CVFRs) have been linked with severe forms of the coronavirus disease 2019 . We examined the prevalence of adult Cameroonians with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Methods:We extracted data of 19132 participants aged 18 years or above (57% men, mean age: 44•5 years) from a nationwide crosssectional study performed by the Cameroon Heart Institute between 2014 and 2019. Participants were recruited in the 10 regions of Cameroon using a multistage-cluster sampling frame. Socio-demographic and anthropometric variables, blood pressure (BP) and fasting capillary glucose were recorded. The distribution of CVRFs, with 95% confidence intervals, was estimated according to sex and age categories. We also examined the prevalence of combined CVRFs. Findings:The age-standardized prevalence of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes was 39•7%, 29•2 %, and 8•8 %, respectively. Among the participants, 56.0 % had at least one of the three considered risk factor, while 18•4 % had two or three. The prevalence of having at least 1 of the 3 CVRFs was 43•1% at age 18-44 years 69% at age 45-64 years. At age 65 years or more, 73•6% and 18•5%, respectively, had at least one or two risk factor(s). Conclusion:The high prevalence of obesity, hypertension and diabetes in Cameroon underlies large proportions of people at risk of developing severe COVID-19 forms. In addition to the continued need to strengthen clinical and public health interventions to reduce the cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden in the population, it may be useful that national COVID-19 guidelines explicitly address screening, preventive and treatment procedures for people at increased risk of CVD.