Risk factors for non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh: Findings of the population-based cross-sectional national survey 2018

Objectives: To determine the national prevalence of risk factors
of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in the adult population of Bangladesh.
Design: The study was a population-based national cross-sectional study.
Setting: This study used 496 primary sampling units (PSUs)
developed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. The PSUs were equally
allocated to each division and urban and rural stratum within each
division. Participants: The participants were adults aged 18-69
years, who were usual residents of the households for at least six months,
and stayed the night before the survey. Out of 9900 participants, 8185
(82.7%) completed STEP-1 and STEP-2, and 7208 took part in STEP-3. Primary
and secondary outcome: The prevalence of behavioral, physical, and
biochemical risk factors of NCD. Data were weighted to generate national
estimates. Results: Tobacco use was significantly (p<0.05)
higher in the rural (45.2%) than the urban (38.8%) population. Inadequate
fruit/vegetable intake was significantly (P<0.05) higher in the
urban (92.1%) than in the rural (88.9%) population. The mean salt intake
per day was higher in the rural (9.0 gm) than urban (8.9 gm) population.
Among all, 3.0% had no, 70.9% had 1-2, and 26.2% had ≥3 NCD risk factors.
The urban population was more likely to have insufficient physical
activity (AOR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.2–1.2), obesity (AOR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.5–1.5),
hypertension (AOR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.3–1.3), diabetes (AOR: 1.6, 95% CI:
1.6–1.6), and hyperglycemia (AOR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.1–1.1).
Conclusions: Considering the high prevalence of the
behavioral, physical, and biochemical risk factors, diverse population and
high-risk group targeted interventions are essential to combat the rising
burden of NCDs.