Electrocardiographic and Echocardiographic Findings in Adolescent Overweight and Obese Secondary School Children in Benin City, Nigeria
Wilson E. Sadoh *
Department of Child Health, University of Benin / University of Benin Teaching Hospital, P.M.B. 1111, Benin City, Nigeria.
Nosakhare J. Iduoriyekemwen
Department of Child Health, University of Benin / University of Benin Teaching Hospital, P.M.B. 1111, Benin City, Nigeria.
Barbara E. Otaigbe
Department of Paediatrics, University of Port Harcourt / University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aim: To determine the electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography findings in adolescent school children.
Study Design: A cross sectional descriptive study.
Place and Duration of Study: Selected secondary school in Benin City, Nigeria. The study was conducted between May and June 2016.
Methods: Subjects were overweight and obese school children from a private secondary school while controls were school children with normal weight. Overweigh and obesity were defined as BMI percentiles between 85th and 95th and >95th percentile respectively. Subjects and controls both had ECG and echocardiography evaluations. Analysis was done with SPSS version 20.0.
Results: Forty nine subjects and 49 controls were recruited. Of the subjects, 21(42.9%) and 28(57.1%) were obese and overweight respectively. Six (12.24%) subjects had chamber enlargement compared to one (2.04%) control, OR = 6.0, p = 0.12). The difference in mean left ventricular mass indexed to height (LVM/ht) of obese subjects 99.81 ± 32.80 g/m, overweight subjects 85.96 ± 20.52 and controls 81.63 ± 15.66 24.25 g/m, was significant, p = 0.0091. The LVM/ht was positively correlated with WC, r = 0.34, p = 0.024 and BMI, r = 0.37, p = 0.013.
Conclusion: Overweight and obesity is associated with increase in LVM and other chamber enlargement. Efforts should be stepped up to prevent overweight and obesity amongst school children for better cardiovascular health.
Keywords: Overweight, obesity, echocardiography, electrocardiography, left ventricular mass