Gender differences and clustering pattern of behavioural risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases: community-based study from a developing country.

Document Type

Article

Department

Family Medicine

Abstract

Objectives: This study estimates the burden of behavioural risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases (CNDs) to evaluate the degree of clustering and the differential of these factors by gender in adults. Methods: In a community-based survey, information was obtained about behavioural risk factors for CNDs among 534 adults in Karachi, Pakistan. Chi-square test and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to evaluate the differences of these factors by gender. Results: Overall, 22.5% of adults had anxiety/depression, 47.8% did not have adequate intake of fruits and vegetables, 60.1% were physically inactive while 49.8% were overweight/obese. More women had anxiety/ depression (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.4-3.1), were physically inactive (OR=2.1, 95% CI = 1.5-3.1) and overweight/ obese (OR= 6.2, 95% CI = 4.3-9.1). On the contrary, greater number of men were found to have inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.3-2.5). Only 1.1% of study subjects had none of the studied risk factors, 16.9% had one while 82% had > or =2 factors. The clustering of these risk factors was significantly higher in women (p

Publication (Name of Journal)

Chronic Illness

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