Research Outputs

Recent Conference Posters and Graphical Abstracts

**AWARDED BEST POSTER PRESENTATION**

Evaluating Modifiable Hypertension Risk in Nigerian Adults — The Nigerian Diet Risk Score

Nutrition Society Congress 2024 | 2-5 of July 2024 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Presented by Dr. Nimisoere Batubo

Hypertension affects more than 1 in 3 Nigerian adults. Dietary screening tools can empower clinicians and patients to moderate hypertension risk. We derived a new score for clinical use in Nigeria to screen for hypertension risk and evaluated its association against a panel of cardiovascular biomarkers. 

The Nigerian dietary screening tool (NiDST) was used to collect dietary intake data from 151 participants visiting the River State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, for routine medical care. Multiple logistic regression was used to derive the Nigerian diet risk score for hypertension (NiDRS). Each incremental increase in NiDRS associated with a 2-fold increase in odds of hypertension. The score demonstrated good discrimination, with a high sensitivity (0.85) and specificity (0.94) to correctly stratify non-hypertensive and hypertensive patients. Biomarker analysis suggested that diet acts through total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-c, VLDL-c, CRP, and homocysteine to influence hypertension. The NiDRS is a valuable tool for clinicians to identify individuals at risk of hypertension and will advance community efforts in the prevention and management of hypertension in Nigeria

Evaluating Modifiable Hypertension Risk in Nigerian Adults — The Nigerian Diet Risk Score

ECO2024 | 12-15 of May 2024 | Venice, Italy | Presented by Dr. Nimisoere Batubo

Hypertension affects more than 1 in 3 Nigerian adults. Dietary screening tools can empower clinicians and patients to moderate hypertension risk. We derived a new score for clinical use in Nigeria to screen for hypertension risk and evaluated its association against a panel of cardiovascular biomarkers. 

The Nigerian dietary screening tool (NiDST) was used to collect dietary intake data from 151 participants visiting the River State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, for routine medical care. Multiple logistic regression was used to derive the Nigerian diet risk score for hypertension (NiDRS). Each incremental increase in NiDRS associated with a 2-fold increase in odds of hypertension. The score demonstrated good discrimination, with a high sensitivity (0.85) and specificity (0.94) to correctly stratify non-hypertensive and hypertensive patients. Biomarker analysis suggested that diet acts through total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-c, VLDL-c, CRP, and homocysteine to influence hypertension. The NiDRS is a valuable tool for clinicians to identify individuals at risk of hypertension and will advance community efforts in the prevention and management of hypertension in Nigeria

Dietary factors and hypertension risk in West Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

ECO2023 | 17-20 of May 2023 | Dublin, Ireland | Presented by Dr. Nimisoere Batubo

Contrary to North America and Europe, the prevalence of hypertension is rising in West Africa. Although diet is implicated as a contributor to this trend, nutritional guidelines in West Africa are not tailored to address this concern. This study aimed to address this limitation by investigating dietary factors common to West Africa and evaluating their association with hypertension.

Thirty one papers (48,809 participants) were included — all cross-sectional. We report that dietary fat, red meat, junk-food, dietary salt, and alcohol are associated with a 76%, 51%, 41%, 25%, and 17% increased odds of hypertension, while ‘fruits and vegetables’ appear to reduce likelihood of hypertension by 20%. This region-specific evidence supported the development of Nigerian Dietary Screening Tool (NiDST) for clinicians, patients, and researchers.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294370

Assessment of Dietary and Pharmacological Treatment on Continuous Measures of Glycemia over 24hrs in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

International Diabetes Federation Conference 2022 | 5-8 of December 2022 | Lisbon, Portugal | Presented by Dr. Cassy Dingena

Contrary to North America and Europe, the prevalence of hypertension is rising in West Africa. Although diet is implicated as a contributor to this trend, nutritional guidelines in West Africa are not tailored to address this concern. This study aimed to address this limitation by investigating dietary factors common to West Africa and evaluating their association with hypertension.

Thirty one papers (48,809 participants) were included — all cross-sectional. We report that dietary fat, red meat, junk-food, dietary salt, and alcohol are associated with a 76%, 51%, 41%, 25%, and 17% increased odds of hypertension, while ‘fruits and vegetables’ appear to reduce likelihood of hypertension by 20%. This region-specific evidence supported the development of Nigerian Dietary Screening Tool (NiDST) for clinicians, patients, and researchers.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1065985

Metabolic drivers of dysglycemia in pregnancy: ethnic-specific GWAS of 146 metabolites and 1-sample Mendelian randomization analyses in a UK multi-ethnic birth cohort

DOHAD World Congress 2022 | 27-31 of August 2022 | Vancouver, Canada | Presented by Dr. Harriett Fuller

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is the most common pregnancy complication but South Asians (SAs) experience up to three times the risk of GDM compared to white Europeans (WEs). To better understand the causal role of metabolites, we paired data from 146 distinct metabolites with genomic data and ran 292 GWASs to identify ethnic-specific genetic predictors of each metabolite in the Born and Bradford cohort. A 1-sample Mendelian Randomisation approach was then used to test for a casuals association between metabolite and markers of dyslgycemia at 26-28 weeks gestation.

In WEs, 14 metabolites were causally associated with postprandial glucose, while in SAs 11 metabolites were identified. Interestingly, cholesterols were the dominant metabolite class driving dysglycemia in WEs, while in SAs saturated and total fatty acids were most commonly associated. In short, we confirm the presence of ethnic-specific causal relationships between metabolites and dysglycemia in mid-pregnancy in SA and WE pregnancies and encourage future research into their biological mechanisms and translating this work towards ethnically tailored GDM prevention strategies.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1157416

Ethnic-specific associations between dietary consumption and gestational diabetes mellitus incidence: A meta-analysis

Fuller H, Moore JB, Iles MM, Zulyniak MA | PLOS Global Public Health | 2022

Globally, one in seven pregnant women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The effectiveness of dietary strategies is uncertain across ethnic groups. Here the effects of unhealthy and healthy diets on GDM within distinct ethnic or cultural populations were evaluated.

Thirty-eight publications provided information on 5 populations. Diet consistently associated with GDM risk in white Europeans but not in other groups. Inconsistent use and reporting of culturally appropriate dietary assessment tools are concerning. Future studies using culturally appropriate tools are required to evaluate dietary mediators of GDM .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000250

Predictive metabolomic profiling within a diverse population of pregnant women at low or high risk of gestational diabetes

Nutrition Society Live | 14-15 of July 2020 | Virtual | Presented by Dr. Harriett Fuller

Globally, gestational diabetes (GDM) is the most common pregnancy complication but its 3 times more common in South Asians (SA) than white Europeans (WE). Factors driving this discrepancy are unclear but metabolism is expected to play a role. With the support of the Born in Bradford, 146 fasting blood metabolites, from 2,668 Wes and 2,671 SAs were analyzed to look for ethnic-specific metabolic patterns of GDM.

Seven metabolites were common to GDM in WE and SA pregnancies, while 6 metabolite were unique to Wes with GDM. Moreover, ethnic-specific metabolic profiles were observed in low-risk women that later developed GDM. This study shows that the metabolic risk profile for GDM differs between WE and SA women and that etiology of GDM differs between ethnic groups.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294370

Twenty Most Recent Publications