J Natl Med Assoc
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Comparative Study
High density lipoprotein cholesterol as a determinant factor in coronary heart disease in Africans.
A study of the lipid profile of 200 normal Nigerian subjects (Group A) shows a steady increase in the total cholesterol and triglyceride values with increasing age in both sexes, while the high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and percent HDL cholesterol values show a steady decrease with increasing age in both sexes. A similar study of 160 patients with high-risk factors (Group B), ie, patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smokers, and obese patients, shows significantly higher values of mean triglyceride than in the normal subjects (P less than 0.001). The HDL cholesterol and percent HDL cholesterol values are significantly lower in the high risk patients than in the normal subjects (P less than 0.001). ⋯ These values were also found to be significantly lower in Group C patients than in Group B patients (P less than 0.01). A comparison of the lipid profile of normal Nigerian subjects with those of black Americans shows that the total cholesterol values of normal black Americans are significantly higher than those of normal Nigerians of comparable age and sex (P less than 0.001). Although there is no significant difference in the HDL cholesterol values of both black American and Nigerian males and females, the values of the percent HDL cholesterol of black Americans are significantly lower (P less than 0.01) than those of Nigerians of comparable age and sex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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The Food and Drug Administration in its efforts to facilitate the drug approval process so that promising treatments may be offered to seriously ill or dying patients has established an innovative regulation, commonly known as the Treatment Investigational New Drugs (TIND). The benefits of this new policy should prove to be particularly appealing to black Americans. ⋯ Until then, the utilization of the TIND may prove to be one of the most significant influences in the advancement of our health care. Barriers to the use of the TIND regulation in the black community must be addressed as well.
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Current opinions regarding the prevalence of coronary artery disease in black Americans are conflicting. Some physicians believe that the prevalence of coronary artery disease in black Americans is less than that in the general population; some find no difference; still others argue that the high prevalence of risk factors, such as hypertension, should result in a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease in black Americans. This article will not attempt to resolve these conflicts but instead will review some of the medical literature that may have influenced prevailing opinions.
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Ectopic pregnancy has become a major health problem in terms of its morbidity and its impact on health care resources. In a case-control study involving 40 black patients, the odds ratio of developing ectopic pregnancy in current and former intrauterine device users is 11.7, which is statistically significant. ⋯ A review of the current literature indicates Chlamydia salpingitis as the major cause of the ectopic epidemic. Prompt and effective treatment of this venereal disease may curtail health care expenses and prevent suffering of thousands of women each year.