Profile of clients attending a Non Communicable Diseases clinic of a tertiary care Institute: A Cross sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Non communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 71% of all deaths globally. Each year, 15 million people die from a NCD between the ages of 30 and 69 years; over 85% of these "premature" deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the profile of clients attending NCD Clinic of a tertiary care institute. Methodology: Opportunistic screening of patients and attendants above 30 years of age attending different clinics of the department of community medicine for various risk factors of NCDs including Obesity, smoking and physical activity. Blood pressure and blood sugar measurements were also taken. A total of 148 people were screened. All those screened received counseling on healthy lifestyle and prevention of NCDs. Results: 89.2% had a sedentary lifestyle and 7.4% were current smokers and 12.8% were obese. 2.7% has raised blood pressure and 4.1% had raised blood sugar at the time of screening and were referred for further investigations. Out of the 148 people screened 20 were known hypertensives, 10 were diabetics and 4 had both hypertension and diabetes and 2 had other comorbidities. Conclusion: A considerable proportion of people screened were found to be at risk of NCDs. Proper counseling at the appropriate time would help in preventing NCDs among such people. Also many of the people screened were found to have high blood pressure or raised blood sugars and needed to be referred for further management.