Tobacco Use and Its Association with Risk Factors of Non-Communicable Diseases in the Rural Areas of Delhi, India

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco use is one of the leading risk factors for global disease burden in all countries. Its association with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is well documented; however, little is known about the relationship with other risk factors of NCD. Objectives: To find prevalence of tobacco use and its associated socio-demographic variables, other behavioral and metabolic risk factors of non-communicable diseases. Materials and Methods: It was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in two rural areas in Delhi among 1005 subjects aged above 18 years selected using systematic random sampling method. WHO STEPS approach was used to collect data about socio-demography, tobacco and alcohol use. Blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar and lipid profile were measured. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 16. Differences between groups were assessed using Chi-square test for their statistical significance. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of current tobacco use was 11.1%. Out of 112, 107 (95.5%) subjects reported daily use of tobacco. The age of initiation of tobacco use was significantly lower among males than females (p<0.01). The mean number of bidi/cigarette consumed per day was significantly lower among females than males (p<0.01). Alcohol use was significantly higher in those with present tobacco use as compared to non-tobacco users (p<0.05). Proportion of subjects with hypertriglyceridemia was significantly higher among current tobacco users (35.7%) than non-users (20.2%) (p<0.05). A significantly higher percentage of tobacco users (18.8%) was underweight than non-users (9.3%) (p<0.05). Conclusion: There is significant burden of tobacco use in rural areas of Delhi. Male gender, age and occupation, hypertriglyceridemia and underweight were associated with tobacco use.