Digital health interventions can be effective for blood pressure (BP) control, but a comparison of the effectiveness and application of these types of interventions has not yet been systematically evaluated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of digital health interventions according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) classifications of patients in terms of BP control, lifestyle behaviour changes, and adherence to medication in patients with hypertension in LMICs. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in English, comprised of adults (≥18 years old) with hypertension and the intervention consisted of digital health interventions according to WHO's classifications for patients in LMICs between January 1, 2009, and July 17, 2023. We excluded RCTs that considered patients with hypertension comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension-mediated target organ damage (HMTOD). The references were downloaded into Mendeley Desktop and imported into the Rayyan web tool for deduplication and screening. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias 2. Data extraction was done according to Cochrane's guidelines. The main outcome measures were mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and BP control which were assessed using the random-effect DerSimonian-Laird and Mantel-Haenszel models. We presented the BP outcomes, lifestyle behaviour changes and medication adherence in forest plots as well as summarized them in tables. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42023424227. We identified 9322 articles, of which 22 RCTs from 12 countries (n = 12,892 respondents) were included in the systematic review. The quality of the 22 studies was graded as high risk (n = 7), had some concerns (n = 3) and low risk of bias (n = 12). A total of 19 RCTs (n = 12,418 respondents) were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, digital health intervention had significant reductions in SBP [mean difference (MD) = −4.43 mmHg (95% CI −6.19 to −2.67), I² = 92%] and BP control [odds ratio (OR) = 2.20 (95% CI 1.64–2.94), I² = 78%], respectively, compared with usual care. A subgroup analysis revealed that short message service (SMS) interventions had the greatest statistically significant reduction of SBP [MD = −5.75 mm Hg (95% Cl −7.77 to −3.73), I² = 86%] compared to mobile phone calls [MD = 3.08 mm Hg (−6.16 to 12.32), I² = 87%] or smartphone apps interventions [MD = −4.06 mm Hg (−6.56 to −1.55), I² = 79%], but the difference between groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.14). The meta-analysis showed that the interventions had a significant effect in supporting changes in lifestyle behaviours related to a low salt diet [standardised mean difference (SMD) = 1.25; (95% CI 0.64–1.87), I² = 89%], physical activity [SMD = 1.30; (95% CI 0.23–2.37), I² = 94%] and smoking reduction [risk difference (RR) = 0.03; (95% CI 0.01–0.05), I² = 0%] compared to the control group. In addition, improvement in medication adherence was statistically significant and higher in the intervention group than in the control group [SMD = 1.59; (95% CI 0.51–2.67), I² = 97%]. Our findings suggest that digital health interventions may be effective for BP control, changes in lifestyle behaviours, and improvements in medication adherence in LMICs. However, we observed high heterogeneity between included studies, and only two studies from Africa were included. The combination of digital health interventions with clinical management is crucial to achieving optimal clinical effectiveness in BP control, changes in lifestyle behaviours and improvements in medication adherence. None.

Background: The increasing cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden threatens the global population as the major cause of disability and premature death. Data are scarce on the magnitude of CVD among the population in West Africa, particularly in Ghana. This study examined the available scientific evidence to determine the pooled prevalence (PP) of CVD and risk factors in Ghana. Methods: We searched electronic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, the Cochrane Library, Science Direct and Africa Journal Online databases to identify literature published from the start of the indexing of the database to 10th February 2023. All articles published in the English language that assessed the prevalence of CVD or reported on CVD in Ghana were included. Two authors independently performed the study selection, assessed the risk of bias, extracted the data and checked by the third author. The effect sizes and pooled odds ratio (POR) were determined using the random-effects DerSimonian-Laird (DL) model. Result: Sixteen studies with 58912 participants from 1954 to 2022 were included in the meta-analysis. Six studies out of 16 reported more than one prevalence of CVD, giving a total of 59 estimates for PP. The PP of CVD in the general population in Ghana was 10.34% (95% Cl: [8.48, 12.20]; l2 99.54%, p < 0.001). Based on the subgroup analysis, the prevalence of CVD was higher in hospital-based settings at 10.74% (95%, confidence interval [Cl]: 8.69, 12.79) than in community-based settings at 5.04% (95% Cl: 2.54, 7.53). The risk factors were male gender (pooled odds ratio [POR]: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.70), old age (POR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.21, 1.45), unemployment (POR: 2.62; 95% CI: 1.33, 5.16), diabetes (POR: 2.79; 95% CI: 1.62, 4.81) and hypertension (POR: 3.41; 95% CI: 1.75, 6.66). Conclusion: The prevalence of CVD was high in Ghana. Urgent interventions are needed for the prevention and management of the high burden of CVD and its risk factors.

Visceral fat (VF) and its effect on metabolic disorders have been extensively studied; nevertheless, there is a need for a simple and reliable index to equally assess VF in low-resource settings. This multihospital-based study was designed to compare the five adiposity anthropometric indices and their associations with VF levels determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis as the reference standard among diabetic patients. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect anthropometric, biochemical and hemodynamic data from 473 diabetic patients. Regression analysis was performed to determine the associations between the five adiposity anthropometric indices and VF levels. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to confirm the predictive capacities of the five adiposity anthropometric indices with VF levels. The waist-to-height ratio WHtR showed the greatest ROC value [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.745,p˂0.001] in identifying diabetic patients with high VF levels compared to body mass index BMI [AUC = 0.584,p = 0.047], waist circumference WC [AUC = 0.723,p˂0.001], hip circumference HC [AUC = 0.647,p˂0.001] and waist-to-hip ratio WHR [AUC = 0.711,p˂0.001]. Likewise, the regression analysis of WHtR and VF levels revealed the strongest association [unadjusted odds ratio (UOR) = 21.49,p < 0.001] compared to BMI [UOR = 6.77,p = 0.008], WC [UOR = 6.37,p < 0.001], HC [UOR = 5.93,p = 0.002] and WHR [UOR = 13.17,p < 0.001]. The optimal cut-off values to identify diabetic patients with high VF levels were > 0.5 for WHtR, > 25.7 kg/m2 for BMI, > 80.5 cm for WC, > 95.5 cm for HC and > 0.82 for WHR. WHtR was shown to have overpowered BMI, HC, WC and WHR in identifying diabetic patients with high VF levels. Therefore, the Ghana Health Service could recommend WHtR as a better diagnostic index for assessing VF levels due to its high predictive capacity.

The incidence of diabetes‐related lower‐extremity complications is increasing globally, yet the condition in developing countries, particularly those in sub‐Saharan Africa, is unclear. This study determined the prevalence and determinants of lower extremity amputations among type I and type II diabetic patients at health facilities in the Volta Region, Ghana. This was a multicenter‐based study involving 473 diabetic patients. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, medical, biochemical, and anthropometric data were obtained systematically with a pretested structured questionnaire. The prevalence rate of lower extremity amputations (LEAs) was 1.9%. LEAs were linked to the male gender (unadjusted odds ratio [UOR] = 5.86; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.44‐23.82; P = 0.013), smokers (UOR = 10.12; 95% CI = 2.63‐38.91; P = .001), type I diabetic patients (UOR = 4.74; 95% CI = 1.24‐18.10; P = .023), family history of diabetes mellitus (UOR = 9.18; 95% CI = 2.25‐37.46; P = .002), diabetic foot ulcers (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 8.62; 95% CI = 1.58‐47.62; P = .013) and obesity (AOR = 6.20; 95% CI = 1.00‐38.04; P = .049). This study showed a relatively low prevalence rate compared to previous studies within Ghana. However, it is a major concern in public health that needs to be addressed since diabetes‐related LEAs are connected to global major morbidity and mortality.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death worldwide, with over 70% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income regions such as Africa. However, most countries in Africa do not have the capacity to manage CVD. The Ghana Heart Initiative has been an ongoing national program since 2018, aimed at improving CVD care and thus reducing the death rates of these diseases in Ghana. This study therefore aimed at assessing the impact of this initiative by identifying, at baseline, the gaps in the management of CVDs within the health system to develop robust measures to bolster CVD management and care in Ghana. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design and was conducted from November 2019 to March 2020 in 44 health facilities in the Greater Accra region. The assessment covered CVD management, equipment availability, knowledge of health workers in CVD and others including the CVD management support system, availability of CVD management guidelines and CVD/NCD indicators in the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS2). Results: The baseline data showed a total of 85,612 outpatient attendants over the period in the study facilities, 70% were women and 364(0.4%) were newly diagnosed with hypertension. A total of 83% of the newly diagnosed hypertensives were put on treatment, 56.3% (171) continued treatment during the study period and less than 10% (5%) had their blood pressure controlled at the end of the study (in March 2020). Other gaps identified included suboptimal health worker knowledge in CVD management (mean score of 69.0 ± 13.0, p < 0.05), lack of equipment for prompt CVD emergency diagnosis, poor management and monitoring of CVD care across all levels of health care, lack of standardized protocol on CVD management, and limited number of indicators on CVD in the National Database (i.e., DHIMS2) for CVD monitoring. Conclusion: This study shows that there are gaps in CVD care and therefore, there is a need to address such gaps to improve the capacity of the health system to effectively manage CVDs in Ghana.

Foodborne diseases (FBDs) are a major public health concern, especially in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, such as Ghana, where poor food handling practices (FHPs) are prevalent. To estimate the pooled proportion of good FHPs and the associated factors among Ghanaian food handlers, this systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to aid scholars, practitioners and policymakers in devising FBD-preventable interventions. The scientific databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, African Journals Online, ProQuest, and Directory of Open Access Journals were systematically searched until April 19, 2023, for relevant literature. Observational studies meeting the inclusion criteria of reported good FHPs among food handlers were included. Three authors independently searched the database, assessed the risks of bias and extracted the data from the shortlisted articles. A random-effects model with the DerSimonian and Laird model was used to estimate the pooled effect size of FHPs and the pooled odds ratio (POR) of FHP-associated factors. Out of the 2019 records collated, 33 with a total sample size of 6095 food handlers met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The pooled proportion of good FHPs among Ghanaian food handlers was 55.8% [95% Cl (48.7, 62.8%); I² = 97.4%; p < 0.001]. Lack of food safety training [POR = 0.10; 95% CI (0.03, 0.35); p = 0.001] and inadequate knowledge of food hygiene [POR = 0.36; 95% CI (0.01, 10.19); p < 0.001] were identified as the critical good FHP-associated factors. The study showed that the proportion of good FHPs among Ghanaian food handlers was 55.8%. To increase knowledge of food hygiene among food handlers, the Ghanaian Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is recommended to provide regular training on food safety for the well-being of the general public.