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Prevalence of NCDs Risk Factors in Kandahar City, Afghanistan

Abstract

Khushhal Farooqi and Najeeb ullah Fazli

Background: The emerging pandemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) creates a new frontier for health professionals globally. Most of the forecasted increase in NCDs prevalence and death rates can be accounted for by emerging NCDs epidemics in developing countries.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of NCDs risk factors among adults Patients visiting the different health clinics in private and governmental levels of Kandahar City.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 300 patients visiting different governmental hospitals from November 2015 to February 2016. The questionnaire for the survey was developed with minor adaptation of WHO STEP wise Surveillance (STEPS) questionnaire. Risk factors were presented in descriptive manner. Descriptive statistics were presented using SPSS 21.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 42.4 years. Of the total, 200 (66.6%) were males and 100 (33.3%) were female. Most of NCDs factors were also prevalent in Kandahar province. Most prevalent NCDs risk factors were tobacco consumption, low physical activity, poor consumption of fruits and vegetables, obesity. We also found that NCDs risk factors were more common among wealthy individuals.

Conclusion: Non-Communicable Diseases are the major health problem in developed countries. Nowadays it is becoming the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries including Afghanistan. NCDs are causing serious harms to the society both in terms of health and economy. Most of the risk factors of NCDs were also prevalent in Kandahar population.