Assessment of serum electrolytes levels of obese individuals in Enugu southeastern, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: Obesity is a public health disorder characterized by an excessive accumulation of fat by affected individuals. The excess fat leads to degradation in a lot of body organs and functions. This study assessed the serum electrolytes levels of obese individuals in Enugu, Nigeria. Methods: Ninety subjects of ages 20–65 years were recruited for this cross sectional study with thirty three obese subjects as test while controls were thirty overweight and twenty-seven normal weight subjects. Anthropometric indices were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. 5mls of blood was collected from each participant for the determination of serum electrolytes by ion selective electrode method, using a sensa core electrolyte analyser. Data was analysed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 25 and results express as mean ± SD. Results: The result shows a significant increase (P < 0.05) in mean ± SD of systolic blood pressure (SBP) (136.87 ± 17.47, 121.65 ± 14.06, 117.82 ± 6.42), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (78.91 ± 8.83, 72.80 ± 8.40, 71.58 ± 7.80), BMI (33.09 ± 3.87, 27.62 ± 1.33, 21.55 ± 1.80), Sodium(Na+) (144.08 ± 1.75, 142.50 ± 3.05, 139.11 ± 2.17) and a significant decrease (P < 0.05) of potassium(K+) (3.91 ± 0.42, 4.07 ± 0.24, 4.33 ± 0.35) in the test and control subjects respectively. There exist positive correlations between SBP vs DBP, SBP vs Na+, DBP vs Na+ and a negative correlation between SBP vs K+, DBP vs K+, Na+ vs K+ in the test subjects. Conclusion: This study suggests that Obesity predisposes an individual to electrolyte variations, hence, the need for regular electrolytes assessment in obese individuals to avert Kidney and Cardiac complications.