Chronic diseases of lifestyle risk factor profiles of a South African rural community

Abstract

Globally, chronic diseases of lifestyle account for millions of dollars spent annually on health. These diseases share similar risk factors including: physical inactivity, obesity, cigarette smoking, and hypertension among others. This study sought to assess risk factors for chronic diseases of lifestyle of a rural community in South Africa. This study used a survey design with data randomly collected using the WHO STEPS Instrument for Chronic Disease Risk Factor Surveillance from participants who attended routine checks from February to October 2018 from a trained healthcare practitioner. Informed consent was sought from all participants before the administration of the instrument. The research setting was the community Primary Health Center. About 54.0% of participants presented with no family history of hypertension but 19.7% had a family history of type II diabetes mellitus. More women were found to be hypertensive, with the majority (93.4%) monitoring their blood pressure. The study revealed that more men were current smokers. A large number of participants were engaged in a sedentary lifestyle with about one-third of the participants reported being obese. Physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyle, and hypertension were among the lifestyle-related risk factors for chronic diseases among residents of this rural community.

Chronic illness experience in the context of resource-limited settings: a concept analysis

“…Arguably, risk factors are usually overlooked or under-managed in health-care settings aimed at treating acute diseases. According to Akindele and Useh ( 2021 ), many people in Africa live sedentary lifestyles, which predispose them to chronic illnesses.Unhealthy habits are considered modifiable risk factors, which means that people can control or change them through their lifestyle.…”

Risk factors and chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes and arterial hypertension) in a population of Nador in North-East Morocco

“…Current projections will rank NCDs among the top 10 causes of death worldwide by 2040, and the leading cause of death in the African region by 2030 [3] of which the large *Corresponding author: salihamharchi@gmail.com proportion of these deaths is related to cardiovascular diseases followed by cancerous and metabolic diseases [4]. All share key behavioral risk factors that can be modified, including physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and high fat intake [5]. These risk factors (RF) lead to physiological and metabolic changes such as obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia and are at the origin of certain chronic pathologies mainly cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer and diabetes mellitus [3].…”