Geographical, sex, and socioeconomic differences in non-communicable disease indicators: A cross-sectional survey in Eastern Uganda.

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study examined differences in the burden of NCDs and their risk factors according to geographic, sex, and sociodemographic characteristics in a rural and peri-urban community in Eastern Uganda. We compared the prevalence by sex, location, wealth, and education. Unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) were reported. Indicators related to tobacco use, alcohol use, salt consumption, fruit/vegetable consumption, physical activity, body weight, and blood pressure were assessed. Among 3220 people (53.3% males, mean age 35.3 years), the prevalence of NCD burden differed by sex. Men had significantly higher tobacco (e.g., current smoking 7.6% vs. 0.7%, adjusted PR (APR) 12.8, 95% CI 7.4-22.3), alcohol use (e.g., current drinker 11.1% vs. 4.6%, APR 13.4, 95% CI 7.9-22.7), and eat processed food high in salt (13.4% vs. 7.1, APR 1.8, 95% CI 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.4) than women; however, the prevalence of overweight (23.1% vs 30.7%, APR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6-0.9) and obesity (4.1% vs 14.7%, APR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2-0.3) was lower among men than women. Comparing locations, peri-urban residents had a higher prevalence of current alcohol drinking, heavy episodic drinking, always/often adding salt while cooking, always eating processed foods high in salt, poor physical activity, obesity, prehypertension, and hypertension than rural residents (p<0.5). When comparing respondents by wealth and education, we found people who have higher wealth or education had a higher prevalence of always/often adding salt while cooking, poor physical activity, and obesity. Although the findings were inconsistent, we observed significant sociodemographic and socioeconomic differences in the burden of many NCDs, including differences in the distributions of behavioral risk factors. Considering the high burden of many risk factors, we recommend appropriate prevention programs and policies to reduce these risk factors' burden and future negative consequences.