Abstract
Background: Undergoing a routine medical examination may be associated with the prevalence rate of chronic diseases from a population-based household interview survey. However, this important issue has not been examined so far. Methods: Data came from the first health service household interview of Hunan province, China, in 2013. A Rao–Scott chi-square test was performed to examine the difference in prevalence rates between subgroups. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) was calculated using the PROC SURVEYLOGISTIC procedure of SAS9.1 statistical software. Results: In total, 24,282 residents of 8400 households were surveyed. A higher proportion of elderly adults had undergone a medical examination within the prior 12 months compared with young adults (≥65 years, 60%; 45–64 years, 46%; 18–44 years, 37%). After controlling for location, sex, and household income per capita, undergoing a medical examination was significantly associated with high prevalence rates of hypertension (adjusted OR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1–3.5) and of diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.7–6.5) for young adults aged 18–44 years. The associations were not statistically significant for age groups 45–64 years and 65 years or older. Conclusion: The prevalence rates of hypertension and diabetes mellitus may be seriously underestimated for young adults not undergoing a routine medical examination in a health household interview survey.
Highlights
It has been estimated that chronic diseases caused a loss of 1.34 billion disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2010 [1], and nearly half of the loss was caused by years lived with disability (YLDs) [2]
Using data of the first health service household interview survey of Hunan province, China, we examined the primary research assumption—that the prevalence rates of hypertension and diabetes mellitus are higher in young adults undergoing a medical examination than in young adults not undergoing a medical examination
Older adults had a higher likelihood of undergoing a medical examination than young adults in the prior 12 months (45–64 years vs. 18–44 years, odds ratio (OR): 1.4; ě65 years vs. 18–44 years, OR: 2.5)
Summary
It has been estimated that chronic diseases caused a loss of 1.34 billion disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2010 [1], and nearly half of the loss was caused by years lived with disability (YLDs) [2]. Reliable morbidity rates (typically prevalence) are important inputs of the calculation of local, national, regional, and global DALYs. many countries do not have high-quality prevalence data of chronic diseases [3]. A household interview survey is a common method of collecting prevalence data, in addition to population- or hospital-based disease registries [3,4]. Many countries adopt household interview surveys to estimate the prevalence rates of chronic diseases [5]. Undergoing a routine medical examination may be associated with the prevalence rate of chronic diseases from a population-based household interview survey. This important issue has not been examined so far. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) was calculated using the PROC SURVEYLOGISTIC procedure of SAS9.1 statistical software
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