Alcohol intake, smoking, self-medication practices and burden of anaemia among traders in Tamale metropolis of Ghana

• Published in: BMC research notes Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 1 - 5
• Main Authors: Anabire, Nsoh Godwin, Billak, George Doopaar, Helegbe, Gideon Kofi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 12.09.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Age groups; Alcohol; Alcohol use; Alcoholism; Anaemia; Anemia; Cardiovascular diseases; Complications and side effects; Drinking of alcoholic beverages; Drug abuse; Drug self-administration; Haemoglobin; Health aspects; Health promotion; Health sciences; Hemoglobin; Life style; Lifestyles; Market women; Methods; Population; Pregnant women; Research Note; Self medication; Smoking; Smoking and women; Social aspects; Traders; Womens health; Ghana; Sub-Saharan Africa
• ISSN: 1756-0500; 1756-0500
• DOI: 10.1186/s13104-023-06480-2

Lifestyle choices including physical inactivity, smoking, abuse of alcohol and drugs, unhealthy diet are common among traders and market women and these behavioural activities predispose individuals to ill-health conditions including cardiovascular diseases and chronic anaemia. We evaluated lifestyle choices such as alcohol intake, smoking and resorting to self-medication among traders in the Tamale Central market in Ghana. We then associated these lifestyle choices with anaemia. A total of 400 participants were recruited for this study. Haemoglobin (Hb) levels of participants were measured using Mission[R] Plus Hb meter and anaemia was diagnosed by Hb < 12 g/dl for non-pregnant females and Hb < 13 g/dl for males. Of the participants, a majority (69.3%) were males, and most of them (56.0%) were within 18-35 years age bracket. While alcohol intake and smoking were uncommon, self-medication was a common practice among the participants. Anaemia was a common condition; diagnosed in 44.5% of participants, but was independent of age, alcohol intake and smoking. However, anaemia was more common in females ([chl].sup.2 = 15.9, p < 0.001) and was associated with self-medication ([chl].sup.2 = 5.7, p = 0.017). We recommend that traders in the Tamale metropolis should seek routine health check-ups to help avert adverse health consequences associated with anaemia.