Prevalence of Risk Factors of Non-Communicable Diseases in a Rural Population of Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Introduction: Over past few decade morbidities and mortalities associated with NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases) leads to a significant loss of productive life years both in developed and developing countries. Therefore, the present study was done to determine the prevalence of common risk factors for major NCDs in a rural population of Barabanki district in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Satrikh block of Barabanki district. Multistage sampling was used for enrolment of the study subjects. A totalof 1824 participants aged ≥25 years were enrolled in the study. WHO STEPs- wise tool was used to collect information on behavioural risk factors like tobacco use, diet, alcohol useand associated anthropometric indices were measured. Results: Prevalence of tobacco smoking, smokeless tobacco products use, alcohol consumption, less than five servings of fruits/vegetables, more than five grams of salt intake and overweight/obesity was found to be 26.2%, 27.08%, 24.1%, 91.61%, 10.9% and 34.86% respectively. Individuals with age more than 35 years, male subjects, illiterates and those who belonged to scheduled castes/tribes were significantly (p<0.05) more predisposed to both smoked tobacco as well as smokeless tobacco use and alcohol consumption.Consumption of alcohol was significantly (p<0.05) higher among employed groups who belonged to upper and upper middle class while tobacco consumption was more prevalent in lower socioeconomic group. Consumption of salt more than 5 grams per day was significantly higher among individuals in elder age group (35-65 days), among females, those who were literate, those who belonged to other backward castes and among government employees. Conclusion: The study revealed high prevalence of non-communicable disease risk factors among adults. This indicates towards need of prompt community based preventive measures and control strategies to lower the forthcoming consequences of NCDs.