Abstract
Recently, developing countries have shown a dramatic increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The burden of NCDs in South Africa has increased over the past years resulting in an estimated 37% of all- cause mortality and 16% of disability-adjusted life years. Currently, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) are the two most prevalent NCDs associated with the rapid increase in mortality. To demonstrate the socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) among South African adults. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital serving the residents of Mdantsane. Relevant socio-demographic data, anthropometric measurements, triplicate blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipogram analysis were obtained from 265 outpatients. Multivariate anlysis shows that; salt intake, smoking, elevated triglycerides and decreased high-density lipoprotein levels were significantly associated with DM with adjusted odds ratio of 0.18 (p=0.002), 0.26 (p=0.048), 2.19 (p=0.006) and 0.38 (p=0.001), respectively. Overweight and obesity were significantly associated with hypertension with odds ratio of 0.03 (p=0.01) and 0.06 (p=0.006), respectively. The burden of DM and HTN on society can be drastically reduced with simple lifestyle changes, development of preventative strategies, large-scale screening and better disease management in South Africa.
Highlights
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have currently been identified as the leading cause of death worldwide
Modifiable risk factors found significantly associated with diabetes and/or hypertension could be used to promote health education as a primary intervention
Tobacco smoking is well established as a risk factor for multiple diseases and has been associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) in multiple cohort studies . 32-34 The present study showed that smoking was associated with the probability of developing DM
Summary
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have currently been identified as the leading cause of death worldwide. The present study highlights the burden and associated risk factors of DM and HTN in Mdantsane, a resource constrained township of South Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors of diabetes and hypertension in one of the rural areas in South Africa, with resource constrained patients. Objective: To demonstrate the socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) among South African adults.
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