Abstract

Ernest Ndukaife Anyabolu, Oguamanam Okezie Enwere*, Chukwuemeka Innocent Okoye

ABSTRACT

Background: There are many risks to cardiovascular disease among Nigerians and the correlation between family size and cardiovascular risk is recently being studied. We assessed specific cardiovascular risks in relation to family size in a city in Eastern Nigeria. Methods and Material: A cross-sectional survey of a representative population was studied and the following variables were obtained and correlated with family size; Cigarette smoking, tobacco snuff use, alcohol consumption, thickened arterial wall and hypertension. Means and standard deviations for continuous variables were calculated. Chi square was used to compare categorical variables. The distribution and characterization of the variables with family size were analyzed using cross tabulation Results: The association between smoking and family size was not significant, p=0.104. The prevalence of tobacco snuff use significantly peaked among those with family size 5 – 9 (50.0%), and declined with family size 9 (12.5%) p=0.029. The prevalence of alcohol use significantly declined as family size increased, p=0.021. The prevalence of thickened arterial wall significantly increased as family size declined, p