TY - JOUR
T1 - Profile of non-communicable disease risk factors among adults in the Republic of Palau
T2 - Findings of a national STEPS survey
AU - Watson, Berry Moon
AU - Chiang, Chifa
AU - Hiroshi Yatsuya, Yatsuya
AU - Ikerdeu, Edolem
AU - Honjo, Kaori
AU - Mita, Takashi
AU - Cui, Renzhe
AU - Madraisau, Sherilynn
AU - Ngirmang, Gregorio
AU - Iso, Hiroyasu
AU - Aoyama, Atsuko
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank staff members of the Bureau of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Republic of Palau for the data collection. Appreciation is also given to the Regional Office for the Western Pacific, WHO for the full financial and technical support during the survey. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Palauan Government or the WHO. Data analysis of this paper is part of a joint research project between Palau and Japan, supported by the Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants for Research on Global Health Issues (H24-chikyukibo-ippan-004) to A.A. from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Government of Japan.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Palau, similar to other Pacific island countries, is currently highly burdened with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The WHO STEPS was launched in 2011 to comprehensively survey indicators for NCDs in the country. This paper aims to describe the prevalence of key NCD risk factors assessed by the survey. The WHO instrument, including behavioral, physical and biochemical measurements, was adopted to the nationwide survey for all residents aged 25 to 64 years. A cluster-based sampling method was performed to obtain a national representative data. Valid data from 2,184 individuals were selected for the analyses, of which 75% were Palauans and 19% were Filipinos. Prevalence of current cigarette smoking was 25% in men and 10% in women. Betel nut chewing with tobacco was prevalent particularly among Palauans (58% in men, 69% in women) compared to the other ethnic groups. In terms of all types of tobacco use, 60% of men and 58% of women were current users. Overweight or obesity was very common among Palauans (84% in men, 86% in women) as well as Filipinos (52% in men, 40% in women). Hypertension was found in 55% of men and 49% of women, with the stage 2 hypertension being 21% and 19%, respectively. The prevalence of diabetic level hyperglycemia was more than 20%. Raised total cholesterol was detected in 16% of men and 20% of women. This survey revealed an alarmingly high prevalence of NCD risk factors, especially tobacco use, obesity, hypertension and raised blood glucose. The data would be useful baseline information to develop effective NCD strategies in Palau.
AB - Palau, similar to other Pacific island countries, is currently highly burdened with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The WHO STEPS was launched in 2011 to comprehensively survey indicators for NCDs in the country. This paper aims to describe the prevalence of key NCD risk factors assessed by the survey. The WHO instrument, including behavioral, physical and biochemical measurements, was adopted to the nationwide survey for all residents aged 25 to 64 years. A cluster-based sampling method was performed to obtain a national representative data. Valid data from 2,184 individuals were selected for the analyses, of which 75% were Palauans and 19% were Filipinos. Prevalence of current cigarette smoking was 25% in men and 10% in women. Betel nut chewing with tobacco was prevalent particularly among Palauans (58% in men, 69% in women) compared to the other ethnic groups. In terms of all types of tobacco use, 60% of men and 58% of women were current users. Overweight or obesity was very common among Palauans (84% in men, 86% in women) as well as Filipinos (52% in men, 40% in women). Hypertension was found in 55% of men and 49% of women, with the stage 2 hypertension being 21% and 19%, respectively. The prevalence of diabetic level hyperglycemia was more than 20%. Raised total cholesterol was detected in 16% of men and 20% of women. This survey revealed an alarmingly high prevalence of NCD risk factors, especially tobacco use, obesity, hypertension and raised blood glucose. The data would be useful baseline information to develop effective NCD strategies in Palau.
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84949806192
SN - 0027-7622
VL - 77
SP - 609
EP - 619
JO - Nagoya journal of medical science
JF - Nagoya journal of medical science
IS - 4
ER -
