BackgroundDespite the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in Vietnam, information on the prevalence of preventable risk factors for NCD is restricted to the main urban centres of Ha Noi, and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). This population-based survey aimed to describe the prevalence of risk factors for NCD in a rural Vietnamese sample.MethodsThis survey was conducted using the WHO "STEPwise approach to surveillance of non-communicable diseases" (STEPS) methodology. Participants (n = 1978) were residents of the Mekong Delta region selected by multi-stage sampling. Standardised international protocols were used to measure behavioural risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity), physical characteristics (weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, blood pressure – BP), fasting blood glucose (BG) and total cholesterol (TC). Data were analysed using complex survey analysis methods.ResultsIn this sample, 8.8% of men and 12.6% of women were overweight (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2) and 2.3% of men and 1.5% of women were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). The prevalence of hypertension (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg, or taking medication for hypertension) was 27.3% for men and 16.2% for women. There were 1.0% of men and 1.1% of women with raised BG (defined as capillary whole BG of at least 6.1 mmol/L).ConclusionWe provide the first NCD risk factor profile of people living in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam using standardised methodology. Our findings for this predominantly rural sample differ from previous studies conducted in Ha Noi and HCMC, and suggest that it is inappropriate to generalise findings from the big-city surveys to the other 80% of the population.

Background:The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was developed as an improvement of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) for use in cross-cultural settings. This study compared the reliability and validity of GPAQ and IPAQ in Vietnam.Methods:251 adults were randomly selected from a population-based survey (n = 1978) of noncommunicable disease risk factors. GPAQ and IPAQ were administered on 2 occasions. Participants wore pedometers and logged their physical activity (PA) for 7 consecutive days.Results:Test-retest correlations of GPAQ measurements differed for participants (n = 153) with stable work patterns (work PA r = .43, total PA r = .39) and those (n = 98) with unstable work patterns (work PA r = −0.02, total PA r = −0.05). IPAQ measurements did not differ in this way. GPAQ reliability was poorer for transport (GPAQ r = .25, IPAQ r = .60) and for leisure (GPAQ r = .21, IPAQ r = .45) PA. GPAQ estimates of total PA for participants with stable work patterns were moderately correlated with IPAQ total PA (r = .32), steps per day (r = .39), and PA log (r = .31).Conclusions:The modifications made when designing GPAQ improved its reliability for persons with stable work patterns, but at the expense of poorer reliability for persons with more variable PA. GPAQ did not have superior validity to IPAQ.

This study examined physical activity in leisure time and at work as estimated by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and the associations between both total and domain-specific physical activity with cardiovascular risk factors in a population-based Vietnamese sample. Participants (n = 1978) were 25- to 64-year-old adults selected by stratified multistage sampling. Leisure activity contributed to <5% of total moderate and vigorous activity and was not associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Total moderate and vigorous activity was associated with body composition (r = -0.16 to -0.22; P < .001), blood glucose (r = -0.07; P < .05), and total cholesterol (r = -0.17; P < .001) for men and with total cholesterol (r = -0.07; P < .05) for women after adjusting for age. Further adjustment for smoking and alcohol intake made negligible changes. These associations were largely driven by work activity, which accounted for 80% of total activity.

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