Prevalence of Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases in Mazar-e-Sharif city using WHO STEP-Wise Approach

Background: Afghanistan is suffering from double burden of diseases including communicable and noncommunicable. The aim of this study was determine the risk factors for NCDs among adult’s population in Mazar-e-Sharif city, Afghanistan. Methods and Materials: A provincial cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2015 on the prevalence of NCD risk factors using the WHO STEPS adapted instrument. The study enrolled a random sample of 1249 adults of age group of 25-70 years. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Fasting venous blood sample was collected to assess the lipid profile and fasting blood sugar. Anthropometric measurements of the participants were also taken. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Out of all (1231) respondents 664 (53.9%) were females and 567 (46.1%) males with a mean age of 40.5±13.2 years. More than half (59.3%) were illiterates and (83.7%) were married and 72% had income of less than 10000 AFN. 9.9% were smokers and (8.3%) were mouth snuff users. Seventy nine percent of respondents ate fruits and 60% took vegetables 3 days or less per week. Almost 12% practiced vigorous physical activity and 21.8% of subjects reported doing moderate physical activity. Almost half (48.5) of subjects were overweight or obese. 30.9% had high blood pressure and 9.2% percent recorded diabetic. Level of high cholesterol was 33.2%, high triglycerides was 20.4%. Furthermore high level of low density lipoprotein (LDL) was 55% and high level of high density lipoprotein (HDL) was 36.9%. The mean level of triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL were 161.7 mg/dL, 179.2mg/dL, 49.4 mg/dL and 113.4 mg/dL were respectively. Conclusions: The findings of study revealed a high burden of risk factors for NCDs in the study population, showing the country is experiencing both communicable and noncommunicable at the same time. It is recommended and emphasized on focusing of interventions to prevent and control the noncommunicable diseases.