Risk Factors of Non-Communicable Diseases among Higher Secondary School Students in Selected Districts of India

Abstract

Background: Tobacco and harmful use of alcohol are two commonest modifiable risk factors leading to Non Communicable Disease. Tobacco and alcohol use during adolescence have potential long term health consequences and a possibility of future addiction. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use among school children in selected districts of India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 4339 students (boys: 2587; girls: 1752) of 10-19 year sage group. Data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire using the face-to-face interview method. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was done to determine the association between socio-demographic variables and tobacco and alcohol consumption. Results: The study showed that, overall the prevalence of tobacco use in any form is higher (31.5%) compared to the use of alcohol (7.9%) among the study subjects. 29% of the students do not have knowledge about the health concerns of alcohol use while 22% of students do not have knowledge about the health concerns of cigarette smoking. Significant association was found between the use of tobacco/alcohol with age, family/friends habit of tobacco/alcohol use and duration of watching television. Conclusion: Health education and knowledge about common risk factors of NCD need to be promoted among the higher secondary students. A broader and more comprehensive school based education strategy and a family based approach would be critical to prevent such unhealthy practices. Policy and its implementation on restricting availability of tobacco and unhealthy diets in and around schools will be an important step to prevent incidence of NCDs.

Tobacco use and its determinants among 13-15 year old adolescents of two central government schools of New Delhi district

“…Similar association was found in Indian studies and studies done in other countries. [7][8][9][10][11][12] Use of tobacco among family members was found to be a strong predictor for tobacco use among students with an odds ratio of 8 in the present study. A study from Sweden done to determine predictors of any tobacco use among adolescents showed an odds ratio of 1.15 for father currently smoking, odds ratio of 2.29 for mother currently smoking and an odds ratio of 3.03 for any other family member currently smoking.…”

“…6 The boys were more prone to ever/current use of tobacco as observed in other Indian studies. [7][8][9] The increased risk taking behavior among boys may be attributable to the greater freedom given to boys in Indian society and the influence of other male role models in their lives.…”

“…7,8,10 The shift in the health risk behaviors from adolescence to childhood stage is making children vulnerable to NCDs at a younger age.…”

“…But in Sograwal et al study the odds of students consuming alcohol was 5 in those who smoked tobacco and 3 in those who chewed tobacco. 7 Among lifestyle related risk factors inactivity at school showed a strong association with tobacco use however they were weak predictors as compared to other factors. Similar observation was found in Sograwal et al study.…”

“…6 Few other studies also reported low levels of knowledge in their study population. 7 GYTS studies showed that the percentage of students who reported that they were taught about the dangers of smoking during the school year significantly increased from 52.3% in 2003 and 54.4% in 2006 to 63.3% in 2009. 16 In the present study, 70.8% of students acknowledged being taught about the harmful effects of smoking at school.…”