Sarcopenic Obesity in Patients with Gastroduodenal Ulcer in Lomé, Togo | Chapter 01 | Research Perspective on Biological Science Vol. 9

 

Background: Gastroduodenal ulcer disease (GUD) is a significant health burden in urban West Africa, a region undergoing a rapid nutritional transition. Conventional assessment using Body Mass Index (BMI) may fail to detect complex malnutrition phenotypes like sarcopenic obesity that could impair ulcer healing. While the infectious and pharmacological etiologies of GUD are well-documented, a critical knowledge gap persists regarding the role of nutritional status as a modulator of disease severity and healing capacity. This gap is particularly concerning in the context of the rapid and profound nutritional transition currently underway in urban African centres like Lomé.

Aim: This study aimed to characterise the detailed nutritional and metabolic profiles of GUD patients in Lomé, Togo, to unmask these underlying disorders.

Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study, conducted from July to October 2024, recruited 127 patients with endoscopically confirmed GUD. Data were collected on sociodemographic, clinical, and dietary characteristics, with dietary quality assessed via a Dietary Diversity Score (SDA). A score of ≤ 4 was classified as low dietary diversity, while a score of ≥ 7 was considered high diversity.

Body composition, including visceral fat and skeletal muscle mass, was Evaluated using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Fasting venous blood was analysed for key biochemical markers, including albumin, folate, and homocysteine.

Results: The cohort (mean age 43.7; 35.4% Helicobacter pylori positive) presented a paradoxical nutritional profile. While BMI classified only 31.5% as overweight or obese, BIA revealed a high prevalence of sarcopenic obesity: 46.5% exhibited a low protein index, and 39.4% had visceral obesity. Poor dietary quality (SDA ≤ 4) was significantly associated with lower concentrations of prealbumin and albumin (p<0.05), reduced serum folate (p<0.01), and consequently higher, detrimental levels of homocysteine (p<0.01). The strong inverse correlation between a low Dietary Diversity Score (SDA) and elevated homocysteine levels, mediated by folate deficiency, unveils a critical metabolic pathway that further hinders recovery. Regular fruit consumption was protective against H. pylori infection (OR = 0.42), while a low education level was an independent risk factor (OR = 2.85).

Conclusion: Patients with GUD in Lomé are affected by a severe "double burden of malnutrition." The high prevalence of sarcopenic obesity, entirely masked by BMI, fosters a systemic metabolic environment of pro-inflammatory visceral adiposity and depleted protein reserves that is fundamentally antagonistic to mucosal healing. These findings highlight the inadequacy of BMI and underscore the urgent need to integrate body composition analysis and key biochemical markers into clinical assessment to guide effective nutritional interventions. This study has some limitations, including its cross-sectional design and its single-centre focus at a tertiary hospital. Future research should explore longitudinal studies to better understand the causal relationships between nutrition, body composition, and GUD progression.

 

Author(s)details:-

 

Kponou Mathieu Bienvenu TOBOSSI
Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, University of Abomey – Calavi, 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Benin.

 

Mamatchi MELILA
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, 01 BP 1515 Lomé 01, Togo.

 

Mlatovi DEGBE
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, 01 BP 1515 Lomé 01, Togo.

 

Abdel Haziz SINA OROU
Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, University of Abomey – Calavi, 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Benin.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/rpbs/v9/6570

Urban Agriculture and Household Food Security in Cities | Chapter 10 | Current Research in Agricultural and Food Science Vol.1

Urban agriculture is a veritable tool for improving household food security in major cities of the world.
It also creates employment and livelihood opportunities for poor urban households and provides
additional income for economic empowerment thereby reducing poverty. Urban agriculture holds the
potential for complementing primary source of food for urban farmers in developing countries.
However, in some African countries like Nigeria, urban planning and development approaches do not
consider food production as an objective; thus, food production capacity may become severely
constrained as urbanization proceeds. In the absence of friendly land use policy and plan that
encourage urban agriculture, city farmers are subjected to harassment and subsequent eviction from
government lands. It is recommended that urban agriculture should be integrated into national food
security policies or food aid programs of aid organizations to facilitate access of low-income and poor
urban communities to technical assistance and extension programs. There arises the need for a close
and efficient collaboration between stakeholders who include national governments, municipal
authorities, aid organizations and civil society actors through adequate national urban agriculture
policies that will guide and direct the design of urban agriculture in order to reduce food insecurity

Author(s) Details

Dr. E. N. Mbah
Department of Agricultural Extension and Communication, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria

Dr. R. K. Jiriko
Department of Agricultural Extension and Communication, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.

Dr. N. E. Amah
Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria.

View Book :- http://bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/book/221