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CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Volume 28, No 6, November/December 2017
AFRICA
379
formal education. Fig. 1F shows that physical inactivity and
dyslipidaemia increased with increasing household income.
Hypertension was the most common NCD, being present
in nearly half the participants (48.5%; 95% CI: 45.1–51.8%),
as indicated in Table 2. Its prevalence rose with increasing
age (Fig. 2A) and household income (Fig. 2B) but decreased
with increasing level of education (Fig. 2C). Similar trends
were noticed for diabetes mellitus (DM) with regard to age
and household income (Fig. 2A, B). CKD also increased with
increasing age (Fig. 2A). The prevalence of DM and CKD by
sociodemographic characteristics is shown in Table 2.
Discussion
The main findings of our study were that: (1) the most prevalent
NCD risk factors were low intake of fruit and vegetables,
physical inactivity and dyslipidaemia, with the majority of
participants having multiple factors; (2) nearly half (48.5%) of
the participants were hypertensive, and CKD and DM occurred
in 13.6 and 8.0%, respectively; and (3) the sociodemographic
characteristics of age, income and education impacted on the
prevalence of the common NCDs and their risk factors.
Inadequate consumption of fruit and vegetables was the
most prevalent risk factor in this study, followed by physical
inactivity and obesity. This is in accord with the findings of
many researchers. Sufficient consumption of fruit and vegetables
was lacking in 96.6% of respondents in a Nepalese community.
19
Zaman and co-workers
20
reported that 92% of participants
in a nationally representative sample in Bangladesh reported
inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables (median serving of 1.6
portions/day).
In a study of university employees in western Nigeria,
96% of participants had inadequate consumption of fruit
and vegetables.
8
Similarly, a high prevalence (90%) has been
reported from northern Nigeria.
6
However, in a community
survey in eastern Nigeria, a slightly lower proportion (70.4%)
of respondents had inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables.
21
Nonetheless, a high prevalence of inadequate intake of fruit and
vegetables exists in the general population and that needs to be
addressed.
Physical inactivity has been found to contribute significantly
to NCD-related mortality.
22
Three-quarters of the participants
in our study were physically inactive. This is in accord with the
findings of Oladimeji and co-workers,
6
who reported that 91%
of workers in the public sector were physically inactive. Likewise,
nearly 80% of hospital workers in Nigeria have been reported to
be physically inactive.
23
However, a lower prevalence of physical
inactivity has been reported in earlier studies.
Of the 2 000 persons studied in Togo, 41% were sedentary,
while 35% was reported from Bangladesh.
24,25
In a study among
workers at a medical college in Ghana, only 25% were physically
inactive.
26
The reason for the disparity between our findings
and those of prior studies reporting low prevalence of physical
inactivity may be related to the highly selective nature of our
Table 2. Sociodemographic characteristics and distribution of non-communicable diseases
and their risk factors among 883 staff members of the University of Jos, Nigeria
Variable
Tobacco
% (95% CI)
Alcohol
% (95% CI)
Diet
% (95% CI)
Physical
inactivity
% (95% CI)
Obesity
% (95% CI)
Dyslipidaemia
% (95% CI)
HPTN
% (95% CI)
DM
% (95% CI)
CKD
% (95% CI)
All
2.9 (2.0–4.3) 24.0 (21.3–27.0) 94.6 (92.8–95.9) 77.8 (74.9–80.5) 26.7 (23.9–29.8) 51.8 (48.4–51.6) 48.5 (45.1–51.8) 8.0 (6.4–10.1) 13.6 (11.4–16.1)
Gender
Male
4.8 (3.2–7.1) 33.8 (29.8–38.0) 94.6 (92.2–96.3) 72.9 (68.9–76.7) 10.6 (8.1–13.6) 48.8 (44.4–53.1) 43.0 (38.7–47.4) 6.9 (5.0–9.5) 14.2 (11.4–17.6)
Female
0.3 (0.0–1.8)
9.9 (7.2–13.6) 94.5 (91.5–96.5) 84.8 (80.7–88.3) 50.0 (44.7–55.3) 55.0 (39.8–50.3) 56.4 (51.1–61.5) 9.7 (6.9–13.3) 12.7 (9.5–16.7)
Marital status
Married
3.0 (1.9-4.6) 24.3 (21.2-27.7) 94.6 (92.6-96.1) 79.5 (76.3-82.4) 27.0 (23.8-30.5) 53.2 (49.4-56.9) 49.4 (45.6-53.1) 8.8 (6.8-11.2) 13.0 (10.7-15.8)
Unmarried 2.8 (0.9–6.5) 22.7 (16.8–29.6) 94.3 (89.8–97.2) 71.0 (63.7–77.6) 25.6 (19.3–32.7) 46.0 (38.5–53.7) 44.9 (37.4–52.6) 5.1 (2.4–9.5) 15.9 (10.8–22.2)
Age group, years
<
20
0.0 (0.0–70.8) 0.0 (0.0–70.8) 100.0 (0.0–29.2) 100.0 (0.0–29.2) 0.0 (0.0–70.8) 33.3 (0.8–90.6) 33.3 (0.8–90.6) 0.0 (0.0–70.8) 0.0 (0.0–70.8)
21–30
7.2 (2.7–15.1) 7.2 (2.7–15.1) 88.0 (79.0–94.1) 73.5 (62.7–82.6) 7.2 (2.7–15.1) 36.1 (25.9–47.7) 14.5 (7.7–23.9) 2.4 (0.3–8.4)
7.2 (2.7–15.1)
31–40
3.1 (1.4–6.0) 22.2 (17.3–27.8) 94.9 (91.5–97.3) 69.3 (63.2–74.8) 22.2 (17.3–27.8) 42.4 (36.3–48.7) 36.2 (30.3–42.4) 3.9 (1.9–7.0) 15.6 (11.4–20.6)
41–50
2.0 (0.8–4.4) 29.9 (24.8–35.3) 96.9 (93.8–98.4) 80.6 (75.6–85.0) 29.9 (24.8–35.5) 53.4 (40.8–52.5) 49.0 (43.1–54.8) 5.8 (3.4–9.1) 12.6 (9.0–16.9)
51–60
2.3 (0.8–5.3) 34.9 (28.5–41.7) 93.5 (89.3–96.4) 85.6 (80.2–90.0) 34.9 (28.9–41.7) 65.1 (58.3–71.5) 71.2 (64.6–77.1) 16.7 (12.0–22.4) 14.4 (10.0–19.8)
61–70
3.2 (0.1–16.7) 32.3 (16.7–51.4) 96.8 (83.3–99.9) 77.4 (58.9–90.4) 32.3 (16.7–51.4) 64.5 (45.4–80.8) 80.6 (62.5–92.5) 19.4 (7.5–37.5) 19.4 (7.5–37.5)
Education, years
None
0.0 (0.0–60.2) 0.0 (0.0–60.2) 0.0 (0.0–60.2) 0.0 (0.0–60.2) 0.0 (0.0–60.2) 25.0 (0.6–80.6) 75.0 (19.4–99.4) 0.0 (0.0–60.2) 0.0 (0.0–60.2)
<
7 years
6.3 (2.1–14.0) 31.3 (21.3–42.6) 97.5 (91.3–99.7) 85.0 (75.3–92.0) 32.5 (22.4–43.9) 52.5 (41.0–63.8) 63.8 (52.2–74.2) 17.5 (9.9–27.6) 13.8 (7.1–23.3)
8–11 years
3.3 (0.7–9.2) 29.3 (20.3–39.8) 95.7 (89.2–98.8) 84.8 (75.8–91.4) 23.9 (15.6–33.9) 46.7 (36.3–57.4) 48.9 (38.3–59.6) 7.6 (3.1–15.1) 8.7 (3.8–16.4)
> 12 years
2.7 (1.6–4.3) 22.0 (18.9–25.5) 94.0 (91.8–95.7) 76.3 (72.7–79.5) 26.4 (23.1–30.1) 52.7 (48.7–56.6) 45.8 (41.8–49.7) 6.6 (4.9–8.9) 14.3 (11.7–17.3)
Staff cadre
Junior
4.4 (2.9–6.8) 25.9 (22.1–30.0) 94.5 (92.1–96.3) 77.2 (73.2–80.7) 20.8 (17.4–24.7) 57.7 (52.4–62.4) 43.2 (38.8–47.7) 5.7 (3.9–8.2) 12.9 (10.2–16.3)
Senior
1.0 (0.3–2.8) 21.6 (17.7–26.2) 94.6 (91.7–96.5) 78.6 (74.2–82.6) 34.3 (29.6–39.3) 47.3 (42.8–51.8) 55.2 (50.1–60.2) 11.1 (8.2–14.7) 14.4 (11.2–18.4)
Income quintile
Lowest
3.4 (1.1-7.9) 28.4 (21.2-36.5) 93.0 (87.6-96.6) 75.0 (67.1-81.8) 20.1 (13.9-27.6) 43.1 (34.8-51.6) 38.1 (30.2-46.6) 4.9 (2.0-9.8)
10.4 (5.9-16.6)
Second
6.1 (2.9-10.9) 28.6 (21.8-36.2) 93.2 (88.3-96.6) 81.7 (74.9-87.3) 20.1 (14.2-27.0) 48.8 (40.9-56.7) 40.2 (32.6-48.1) 4.9 (2.1-9.4) 15.8 (10.6-22.3)
Third
0.0 (0.0-100.0) 22.3 (15.8-30.1) 94.4 (89.2-97.5) 81.1 (73.7-87.1) 33.5 (25.8-41.9) 53.8 (45.3-62.2) 52.4 (43.9-60.8) 9.1 (4.9-15.0) 13.9 (8.7-20.7)
Fourth
3.0 (1.0-6.9) 18.2 (12.7-25.0) 95.7 (91.4-33.0) 82.9 (76.2-88.3) 25.6 (19.1-33.0) 57.3 (49.4-65.0) 56.1 (48.1-63.8) 11.6 (7.1-17.5) 11.5 (7.1-17.5)
Fifth
0.6 (0.02-3.5) 22.7 (16.3-30.1) 95.4 (90.8-98.1) 76.6 (90.8-98.1) 35.0 (27.5-43.1) 59.7 (51.5-67.6) 55.1 (46.9-63.2) 11.0 (6.6-17.1) 13.6 (8.6-20.0)
HPTN = hypertension; DM = diabetes mellitus; CKD = chronic kidney disease.