Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure Levels and their Relationship with Dietary Diversity among Undergraduates in Ebonyi State

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is an extremely common co-morbidity of diabetes, affecting 20–60% of individuals with diabetes.
Objective: The aim was to determine the blood sugar and blood pressure levels and evaluate their relationship with dietary diversity  among undergraduates of Alex-Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State.
Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 200 students (69 males and 131 females) across the 11 faculties  of the institution. A pre-tested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic  profile, anthropometric measurements and 24-hr dietary recall. Blood sugar levels were determined using Accu-chek multi-monitoring  system, blood pressure was determined using sphygmomanometer. Dietary diversity was determined using 14 food groups. Statistical
Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23 was used to analyze all data at 5% level (P <0.05).
Results: The mean age, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were 22±2.47 years, 1.7 ± 0.08m, 266.3±8.44kg and 19.8±2.38 kg/m  respectively. The mean blood sugar and mean blood systolic pressure were142 ±13.66mg/dl and 150.37 ±7.34mmHg respectively. Mean  Dietary Diversity score was 5.66±1.29. Glucose level has a positive correlation with dietary diversity score (r = 0.166, p =<0.05). About 82.0%  had average dietary diversity tercile (DDT), 18.0% had low DDT.
Conclusion and recommendations: Mean blood sugar and mean blood pressure were high, mean dietary diversity score was low.  Regular measurement of blood pressure and blood sugar for early detection and prevention is advocated