General characteristics of the study population
| Characteristic | Total n=931 | Male n=501 | Female n=430 | P value |
| Age (years), median (IQR) | 23 (21–25) | 24 (21–26) | 23 (21–25) | <0.001* |
| Age (years), n (%) | 0.004* | |||
| ≤20 | 194 (20.8) | 90 (18.0) | 104 (24.2) | |
| 21–25 | 516 (55.4) | 276 (55.1) | 240 (55.8) | |
| 26–30 | 174 (18.8) | 100 (20.0) | 74 (17.2) | |
| 31–35 | 47 (5.0) | 35 (7.0) | 12 (2.8) | |
| Level of study, n (%) | 0.453 | |||
| Undergraduate (in year 3 or less) | 466 (50.0) | 249 (49.7) | 217 (50.5) | |
| Graduate (in year 4 or above) | 465 (49.9) | 252 (50.3) | 213 (49.5) | |
| Religion, n (%) | 0.142 | |||
| Christian | 836 (89.8) | 446 (89.0) | 390 (90.7) | |
| Muslim | 72 (7.7) | 38 (7.6) | 34 (7.9) | |
| Other | 23 (2.5) | 17 (3.4) | 6 (1.4) | |
| Ethnic origin, n (%) | 0.797 | |||
| Sudano-Sahelian | 73 (7.9) | 42 (8.5) | 31 (7.2) | |
| Sawa | 94 (10.2) | 47 (9.5) | 47 (11.0) | |
| Grassfield | 379 (41.0) | 202 (40.7) | 177 (41.4) | |
| Bantu | 378 (40.9) | 205 (41.3) | 173 (40.4) | |
| Marital status, n (%) | 0.134 | |||
| Single | 869 (93.3) | 470 (93.8) | 399 (92.8) | |
| Divorced | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Widow(er) | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Married | 35 (3.8) | 21 (4.8) | 14 (2,8) | |
| Concubinage | 25 (2.7) | 15 (3.0) | 10 (2.4) | |
| AUDIT-C score, median (IQR) | 1 (0–3) | 2 (0–4) | 1 (0–2) | <0.001* |
| Second had smoking† (hours/week), median (IQR) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 0.976 |
| Exposure to firewood smoke† (hours/week), median (IQR) | 3 (1.3–5) | 2 (1–3) | 4 (2–7) | <0.001* |
| BMI (kg/m2), median (IQR) | 23 (21–25) | 23 (21–25) | 23 (21–26) | 0.464 |
| Mid-arm circumference (cm), median (IQR) | 27 (26–29) | 28 (26–30) | 26.5 (25–28.3) | <0.001* |
| Waist circumference (cm), median (IQR) | 76 (72–81) | 77 (74–82) | 75 (70–80) | <0.001* |
| Hip circumference (cm), median (IQR) | 96 (91–101) | 95 (91–99) | 96 (91–102) | 0.009* |
| Waist/hip ratio, median (IQR) | 0.80 (0.77–0.84) | 0.82 (0.79–0.84) | 0.78 (0.74–0.82) | <0.001* |
| Fat mass percentage (%), median (IQR) | 18 (12–26) | 13 (10–17) | 26 (21–31) | <0.001* |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg), median (IQR) | 114 (106–122) | 118 (112–126) | 108 (102–115) | <0.001* |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg), median (IQR) | 71 (66–77) | 73 (67.5–79) | 69 (64–75) | <0.001* |
*P<0.05.
†The total number of participants was 931 (501 males and 430 females) except for secondhand smoking (110 males and 70 females) and exposure to firewood smoke (56 males and 72 females).
AUDIT-C, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption.