Browsing by Author "Annan, Reginald A."

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Anemia Predicts Physical Fitness Among Adolescent Athletes in Ghana
    (Health Science Reports, 2024) Eli‐Cophie, Divine; Apprey, Charles; Annan, Reginald A.; 0000-0002-4071-5049
    Background: Anemia indicates low blood hemoglobin levels and has become a public health problem among adolescents in developing countries. The prevalence among adolescent athletes and its effect on physical fitness has not been studied in Ghana. The study aimed to assess the impact of anemia on physical fitness among adolescent athletes in Ghana. Methodology: The sample of 194 adolescent athletes was randomly recruited from competitive athletic groups, boxing, and football clubs in Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Volta regions of Ghana. Anthropometric parameters and Hemoglobin concentration were measured. Physical fitness was assessed using, right and left‐hand grip strength, reaction time, flexibility, and the Cooper‐12‐min run test, all following standard procedure. Results: The adolescent athletes of mean age (15.8 ± 2.5 yrs) and weight (54.0 ± 12.8 kg) were mostly of normal weight‐for‐age and height. The overall prevalence of anemia among the adolescent athletes was 14.3%. Anemia was however, more common among early adolescents (20.7%). The average hemoglobin level was lowest among the early adolescents (12.8 ± 1.1 g/dl), however, there was no association between anemia and the adolescent age group (X2 = 2.112 p = 0.348). Although the proportions of anemic males and females were similar (14.3%), the mean hemoglobin levels were significantly higher among males (13.6 ± 1.5 g/dl) than females (12.5 ± 1.2 g/dl). There was an association between hemoglobin and cardiorespiratory endurance (r = 0.324, p = 0.005), hand grip strength as well as relative handgrip strength (r = 0.379, p = 0.001). Hemoglobin significantly predicted 10.5% of the variation in cardiorespiratory endurance (R2 = 0.105, b = 0.623, p = 0.005) of the athletes. Conclusion: Hemoglobin levels could predict the cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular strength of adolescent athletes. Anemia is a public health problem among adolescent athletes and must be given the needed attention to make these athletes competitive and win laurels.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy among women in Bosomtwe District, Ghana
    (Maternal & Child Nutrition, 2024) Apprey, Charles; Addae, Hammond Yaw; Boateng, Grace; Aduku, Linda Esi; Annan, Reginald A.; 0000-0002-4071-5049
    The sustainable development goals seek to end all forms of malnutrition of women of reproductive age (WRA) by 2030. As such, recent data on nutrient adequacy are needed to aid in tracking progress. However, data on specific dietary nutrient intakes includes only iron, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin B12 in Ghana. Therefore, women's dietary diversity score (W‐DDS) is often used as a proxy measure of nutrient adequacy. It is hypothesised that there is no association between W‐DDS and Nutrient Adequacy among WRA in peri‐urban Ghana. Hence, this research evaluated the associations between W‐DDS and nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) and assessed the determinants of mean nutrient adequacy ratio (MAR) in the Bosomtwe District of Ghana. A community‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted, and data collected on anthropometry, food insecurity, socio‐demographic characteristics and dietary intake using the 24‐hour recall from 407 WRA. In all, 21 nutrients were assessed. The mean age, W‐DDS, and MAR were 29.0 ± 6.7 years, 5.3 ± 1.9, and 0.65 ± 0.19 respectively. The NAR were generally high for the macronutrients as compared to micronutrients and the nutrients with low NAR included vitamin C (0.27 ± 0.19), vitamin A (0.15 ± 0.23), vitamin B12 (0.54 ± 0.32), calcium (0.28 ± 0.20), zinc (0.52 ± 0.23) and iron (0.57 ± 0.28) ‐ signifying the WRA may be consuming monotonous carbohydrate‐based diet. The hierarchical multivariable linear regression found a significant association between W‐DDS and MAR after controlling for confounders (β = 0.404, p < 0.001). The determinants of MAR were ethnicity (β = 0.110, p = 0.006) and body mass index (β = 0.189, p < 0.001). This study supports the use of W‐DDS as a proxy indicator of nutrient adequacy. Strategies meant to address nutrient inadequacies should be adaptable to different ethnic groups and overweight‐reducing strategies should be incorporated into broader nutrition initiatives.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Dietary diversity and opportunistic infections among adults living with human immunodeficiency virus on antiretroviral therapy in Kumasi metropolis; a facility-based cross-sectional study
    (BMC Infectious Diseases, 2025) Apprey, Charles; Addae, Hammond Yaw; Osei, Monica; Danquah, Irene; Annan, Reginald A.; 0000-0002-4071-5049
    Background: Despite advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continue to face heightened susceptibility to opportunistic infections (OIs). Adequate nutrition remains an essential factor that positively influences disease progression and the occurrence of OIs. In Ghana, no study has evaluated the association between dietary diversity and OI occurrence among adults with HIV. This study aimed to evaluate the association between dietary diversity and the presence of OIs among HIV-positive adults receiving ART. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 291 HIV-positive adults receiving ART from February 2023 to April 2023 at Kumasi South Hospital, Ghana. The study participants were selected using a convenient sampling method. A pre-tested questionnaire and review of electronic health records were used to collect sociodemographic, nutritional and clinical data. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify variables significantly associated with the study outcome and hierarchical multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between dietary diversity and the occurrence of OIs while controlling for confounders at p-value<0.05. Results: The mean age and dietary diversity were 46.2±10.9 years and 4.0 (IQR: 3.0 to 6.0) food groups, respectively. Out of 291 respondents, 152 (52.2%) had inadequate dietary diversity and 39 (13.4%) had at least one OI. The respondents with inadequate dietary diversity were three times more likely to have an OI than their peers with adequate dietary diversity [AOR 3.03, (95% CI: 1.20 to 7.64), p=0.019]. Conclusion This study revealed that inadequate dietary diversity is a significant nutritional problem and dietary diversity was associated with the presence of OIs among PLWHA on ART at the study site. Hence, there is the need to enhance the intake of diversified diets based on locally available foods. This could decrease the occurrence of OIs and eventually reduce HIV-related morbidity/mortality.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Food acquisition and consumption by NOVAfood classification and lived poverty index among rural and urban households in SouthAfrica and Ghana
    (Public Health Nutrition, 2024) Agyapong, Nana Ama Frimpomaa; Annan, Reginald A.; , Kroll, Florian; Apprey, Charles; Aduku, Linda Nana Esi; Aidoo, Robert; Swart, Elizabeth Catherina; 0000-0002-4071-5049
    Objective: This study aimed to determine differences in food consumption by the NOVA food categories in South Africa and Ghana and how they relate to poverty and food supply systems. Design: This study used a cross-sectional design to assess household food acquisition and lived poverty index. Setting: The study was conducted in Khayelitsha and Mount Frere, urban and rural communities in South Africa, respectively, and Ahodwo and Ejuratia, urban and rural communities in Ghana, respectively. Participant: An adult in charge of or knowledgeable about household food acquisition and consumption was selected to participate in the study. Results: A total of 1299 households participated in the study. Supermarkets were a prominent source of ultra-processed foods for households in South Africa, while informal outlets were an important source of ultra-processed foods in Ghana. Consumption of unprocessed foods was higher among South African households (58·2 %) than Ghanaian households (41·8 %). In South Africa, deprivation was associated with increased odds of infrequent consumption of both unprocessed foods (OR 3·431 P < 0·001) and ultra-processed foods (OR 2·656 P <0·001) compared with non-deprivation. In Ghana, no significant differences were observed between deprived households and non-deprived households in relation to the consumption of the NOVA food classes. Conclusion: Different food supply systems and poverty are associated with household acquisition of the different NOVA food classes. Policies should be geared towards formal shops in South Africa and informal shops in Ghana to reduce the consumption of key obesogenic foods.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Glycemic index of some local staples in Ghana
    (Food Science & Nutrition, 2017) Eli-Cophie, Divine; Agbenorhevi, Jacob K.; Annan, Reginald A.; 0000-0002-8954-5917; 0000-0002-8516-7656; 0000-0002-6559-1636
    Glycemic index (GI), a measure of blood glucose level as influenced by foods has become a concern due to the increasing cases of diabetes in Ghana. In spite of this, little is known of the GI of commonly consumed carbohydraterich foods of the Ghanaian diet. The GI of five Ghanaian staples: fufu (locally pounded), kenkey (Ga), banku, Tuo Zaafi (TZ), and fufu (Processed powder) were determined in a crossover trial among 10 healthy nondiabetics. Participants were given 50 g portions of pure glucose on two different occasions and subsequently the test foods containing 50 g available carbohydrates. Capillary blood glucose levels of the subjects at fasting and after ingestion of the glucose and test foods were measured within a 2-hour period. The GI of the test foods were calculated by dividing the incremental area under the glucose response curve (IAUC) of the test food by the IAUC for the reference food and multiplying the result by 100. Processed-powdered fufu had the least glycemic response (31), followed by Ga kenkey (41) and locally pounded fufu (55), all recording low GI. Tuo Zaafi (68) had a medium GI and banku (73), moderately high GI. Comparison of GI between the foods using ANOVA revealed a significant dif ference between GIs of locally pounded fufu versus I-fufu (industrially processed fufu flour) (p = 0.026). This study showed that the five major Ghanaian staples showed low to moderately high GI. These should be considered in recommen dations for diabetics.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Pearl millet instant beverage powder enriched with baobab pulp to improve iron and anaemia status of adolescent girls in rural Ghana: a study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial
    (British Journal of Nutrition, 2024) Atosona, Ambrose; Larbie, Christopher; Apprey, Charles; Annan, Reginald A.; 0000-0002-4071-5049
    Iron (Fe) deficiency anaemia is a public health concern among adolescent girls worldwide. Food-to-food fortification may be a sustainable and effective solution to Fe deficiency anaemia. However, the effect of food-to-food fortification on Fe deficiency anaemia reduction is understudied particularly in Ghana. This study seeks to investigate the efficacy of baobab pulp-fortified pearl millet beverage powder in improving the Fe and anaemia status of adolescent girls in Ghana. A three-arm cluster randomised controlled trial design, which will involve 258 anaemic adolescent girls (86/arm) selected through multi-stage cluster sampling in Kumbungu District of Ghana, will be used. Participants in arm 1 will receive 350 ml of baobab pulp-fortified pearl millet beverage, containing 13 mgFe (96 % of average RDA), 18·8 mg vitamin C (30·4 % of average RDA) and 222·1 mg citric acid, while participants in arm 2 will receive similar volume of unfortified pearl millet beverage, once a day, five times a week, for six months. Participants in arm 3 will receive the routine weekly Fe (60 mg)-folate (400 μg) supplementation for six months. Serum ferritin, C-reactive protein and haemoglobin (Hb) of participants will be assessed at baseline and end-line. The primary outcomes will be serum ferritin and Hb concentrations. Secondary outcomes will be prevalence of Fe deficiency, Fe deficiency anaemia and BMI-for-age. One-way ANOVA and paired t test will be used to compare means of serum ferritin and Hb levels among and within groups, respectively. This study will provide novel concrete evidence on the efficacy of pearl millet-baobab pulp beverage powder in improving Fe and anaemia status of adolescents
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    School Feeding Programmes and Physical Nutrition Outcomes of Primary School Children in Developing Countries
    (Journal of Food Science and Nutrition Research, 2022) Yussi, Mustapha Titi; Adocta, Vincent Awuah; Apprey, Charles; Annan, Reginald A.; Galseku, Prosper; 0000-0002-4071-5049
    Context: School feeding programmes have been widely implemented and particularly in developing countries with the aim to improve school enrolment and attendance especially of girls and to reduce short term hunger to improve children’s performance in school. Beyond the first 1000 days of the lives of children, school feeding programmes remain one of the critical interventions that have used schools as a platform to contribute to the ful¿lment of their nutritional needs though the evidence to this effect is little and mixed. Objective: This review focused on assessing the impact of school feeding programmes on reduction in underweight, thinness, and stunting among primary school children in developing countries. Data sources: Electronic searches were carried out in PUBMED, SCOPUS and Cochrane library. The WHO clinical trials registry as well as reference lists of relevant articles were also hand searched. Data Extraction: Data was extracted from included studies which have been published in the past 10 years (2010 - August 2021) from original research where the main intervention was the provision of school based meals. Data analysis: Meta-analysis was conducted to determine changes in height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ) and BMI-for-age (BAZ) z scores. A random effects model was applied to determine the mean difference in all outcomes of interest which were evaluated as continuous variables. Results: Children aged 3-16 years were enrolled in the included studies and the number of participants ranged between 321 and 2,869 across studies. Of the included studies, the feeding intervention provided for a minimum of 30% RDA for the age group with the intervention lasting up to a maximum of 34 weeks. The impact of school feeding intervention on HAZ, BAZ and WAZ showed statistically non-significant (p>0.05) mean differences of 0.02 (95% CI, -0.06 to 0.10), 0.11 (95% CI, -0.01 to 0.23) and 0.06 (95% CI, -0.04 to 0.16) respectively. Conclusion: School feeding interventions have not shown any significant positive effect on the physical nutrition outcomes of primary school children. Short duration of intervention during the studies, poor compliance to feeding and substitution of school meals could have accounted for the weak effect sizes.