Rohingya refugees of Ukhiya, Cox’s bazar are an unaccounted group of people who form the largest cluster of refugees worldwide. Non-communicable disease (NCD) alone causes 70% of worldwide deaths every year therefore, the trend of NCD among Rohingya refugees demands proper evaluation and attention. The objective of this study was to measure the NCD risk factors among a convenient sample of Rohingya refugees. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 249 Rohingya refugees living in Balukhali and Kutupalang Rohinga Camps at Ukhiya, Cox’s bazaar using a survey dataset adapted from the WHO Stepwise approach to NCD Risk Factor Surveillance (STEPS). Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were done by trained medical assistants. Descriptive analysis was applied as appropriate for categorical variables. A Chi-square test and a student t test were performed to compare the categories. In general, the findings of NCD risk factors as per STEPS survey was 53.4% for tobacco use including smokeless tobacco, 2.8% for alcohol consumption, 23.7% for inadequate vegetable and fruit intake, 34.5% for taking extra salt, 89.6% for insufficient physical activity, 44.5%for confirmed hypertension, 16.9% for overweight, 1.2% for obesity and 0.8% for high blood sugar. Some modifiable non-communicable disease risk factors such as physical inactivity, tobacco smoking, extra salt with food, and hypertension are present among the Rohinga refugees in Bangladesh. These findings were timely and essential to support the formulation and implementation of NCD-related policies among the Rohingya refugees as a priority sub-population.
Introduction
Risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among postmenopausal Bangladeshi women has not yet been evaluated using a country‐specific tool. Hence, we prompted to estimate the risk and identify the predictors that were not typically included in any CVD risk assessment tool.
Methods
This cross‐sectional study used a web version of country‐specific lab‐based Globorisk calculator to estimate the risk of CVD among 265 postmenopausal women who visited a primary healthcare centre in a rural area of Bangladesh. The centre was selected purposively and the participants were recruited using a convenient sampling technique. Data were collected using a modified STEP‐wise approach to surveillance of non‐communicable disease risk factors questionnaire of the World Health Organization. The risk levels were presented using descriptive statistics and the associated predictors were identified using adjusted multiple linear regression analysis.
Results
Overall, 56.7% of the subjects were identified as ‘at risk’ of future CVD events. After adjusting the confounders, CVD risk factors including age of onset of menopause (β = 0.441, p < 0.001), duration of menopause (β = 0.603, p < 0.001), smokeless tobacco use (β = –1.047, p = 0.003), added salt intake (β = 1.081, p = 0.002), waist–hip ratio (β = 0.094, p = 0.03) and diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.145, p = 0.001) were identified as significant predictors of CVD risk.
Conclusion
This finding suggests screening program among postmenopausal women for early detection of CVD risk and efforts to control the associated predictors.
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