Globally, hypertension is one of the leading causes of death. It can potentially lead to heart disease and stroke, among others, that could result to premature death. In Ghana, hypertension is considered as a disease ...Globally, hypertension is one of the leading causes of death. It can potentially lead to heart disease and stroke, among others, that could result to premature death. In Ghana, hypertension is considered as a disease that contributes to an increase in outpatients’ attendance. To assess the trend differentials of hypertension-induced deaths in Ghana, Chi-square test for equal proportions and Marascuilo procedure for pairwise comparison were performed using surveillance data on reported number of deaths from 2012 to 2016 across the then ten regions. The results show that incidence of hypertension-induced mortality was significantly different for almost all the regions and over the years. The incidence of hypertension-induced mortality has significantly reduced from 2012 to 2016. However, Volta Region recorded the highest incidence of mortality cases (<em>p</em>-value less of 0.0001) than the other regions during the period under review, while the Upper East Region recorded continuous increase in incidence of mortality cases with the highest in 2016. The Eastern Region, Central Region, and Greater Accra Region recorded significantly (<em>p</em>-value less of 0.0001) higher incidence of hypertension-induced mortality than the Ashanti Region, Brong Ahafo Region, Northern Region, Western Region and Upper West Region. The Upper West Region and Western Region had the lowest incidence of mortality. The decline in trend of hypertension-induced mortality could be attributed to some healthcare interventions put in place during the period. One of these interventions was the introduction of health insurance in 2003, a development which has been shown to affect the health seeking behaviors of the people. It is, therefore, important to investigate factors affecting these spatial and temporal dynamics in order to determine appropriate ways to actively control the hypertension-induced deaths in the country. Public education on health should be intensified so as to totally curb hypertension and its attendant risks.展开更多
It is widely known that cancer is a disease of “old-age”. However available data show that this is not the case for many types of cancers. Incidences of breast and ovarian cancers have varying rates of change with a...It is widely known that cancer is a disease of “old-age”. However available data show that this is not the case for many types of cancers. Incidences of breast and ovarian cancers have varying rates of change with age. Breast cancer data of Arabian-gulf women, show that the incidence rates increase with age and reach a maximum at 39 year. It then declines linearly with age to about 55 years. The rate of increase and its changes with age are similar to those of many other countries. In the premenopausal phase the relationship between incidence and age could be adequately modeled using a linear model for the logarithmic transformations of age and incidence. Similar observations are made for the ovarian cancer incidences. Results: It is shown that the rate of increase in breast and ovarian cancer incidence with respect to age is increasing in the premenopausal ages. Moreover, the burden of the disease with respect to mortality and “Disability Adjusted Life Years” or DALY, varied considerably among the six gulf countries. Conclusions: We conclude, based on the age incidence relationship that the number of cancer cases may double in the next period that follows our study period (1998-2009). Moreover, if the six countries have identical relationship between age and the two types of cancer, there should be an integrated and unified effort to have a common strategy for prevention and control.展开更多
文摘Globally, hypertension is one of the leading causes of death. It can potentially lead to heart disease and stroke, among others, that could result to premature death. In Ghana, hypertension is considered as a disease that contributes to an increase in outpatients’ attendance. To assess the trend differentials of hypertension-induced deaths in Ghana, Chi-square test for equal proportions and Marascuilo procedure for pairwise comparison were performed using surveillance data on reported number of deaths from 2012 to 2016 across the then ten regions. The results show that incidence of hypertension-induced mortality was significantly different for almost all the regions and over the years. The incidence of hypertension-induced mortality has significantly reduced from 2012 to 2016. However, Volta Region recorded the highest incidence of mortality cases (<em>p</em>-value less of 0.0001) than the other regions during the period under review, while the Upper East Region recorded continuous increase in incidence of mortality cases with the highest in 2016. The Eastern Region, Central Region, and Greater Accra Region recorded significantly (<em>p</em>-value less of 0.0001) higher incidence of hypertension-induced mortality than the Ashanti Region, Brong Ahafo Region, Northern Region, Western Region and Upper West Region. The Upper West Region and Western Region had the lowest incidence of mortality. The decline in trend of hypertension-induced mortality could be attributed to some healthcare interventions put in place during the period. One of these interventions was the introduction of health insurance in 2003, a development which has been shown to affect the health seeking behaviors of the people. It is, therefore, important to investigate factors affecting these spatial and temporal dynamics in order to determine appropriate ways to actively control the hypertension-induced deaths in the country. Public education on health should be intensified so as to totally curb hypertension and its attendant risks.
文摘It is widely known that cancer is a disease of “old-age”. However available data show that this is not the case for many types of cancers. Incidences of breast and ovarian cancers have varying rates of change with age. Breast cancer data of Arabian-gulf women, show that the incidence rates increase with age and reach a maximum at 39 year. It then declines linearly with age to about 55 years. The rate of increase and its changes with age are similar to those of many other countries. In the premenopausal phase the relationship between incidence and age could be adequately modeled using a linear model for the logarithmic transformations of age and incidence. Similar observations are made for the ovarian cancer incidences. Results: It is shown that the rate of increase in breast and ovarian cancer incidence with respect to age is increasing in the premenopausal ages. Moreover, the burden of the disease with respect to mortality and “Disability Adjusted Life Years” or DALY, varied considerably among the six gulf countries. Conclusions: We conclude, based on the age incidence relationship that the number of cancer cases may double in the next period that follows our study period (1998-2009). Moreover, if the six countries have identical relationship between age and the two types of cancer, there should be an integrated and unified effort to have a common strategy for prevention and control.
