PESHAWAR
\nA recent research study has identified hypertension as the leading prevalent non-communicable disease (NCD) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), signalling a growing public health challenge in the region.
\nThe findings underscore urgent need for targeted interventions, awareness campaigns, and improved healthcare infrastructure to address this critical issue.
\n\u201cAmong all NCDs, hypertension stood out with highest prevalence (29.2%), showing a significant difference between females (32.7%) and males (25.0%),\u201d the study disclosed.
\nPublished in PLOS ONE, a leading peer-reviewed journal by the Public Library of Science, the study titled \u201cPrevalence of Communicable, Non-Communicable Diseases, Disabilities, and Related Risk Factors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u201d was conducted by a team of esteemed researchers.
\nThe team included Dr. Ziaul Haq, Vice Chancellor of Khyber Medical University (KMU), alongside experts from the University of Glasgow, Imperial College London, and the University of York.
\nAccording to study the proportion of males and females with diabetes is 7.4% and 5.2%, respectively, with a more substantial percentage (11.2%) observed in the 50 years\u2019 age group compared to 2.5% in the 18\u201329 years\u2019 age group and 5.0% in the 30\u201349 years\u2019 age group.
\nAmong the included CDs, hepatitis B and C (0.5% and 0.8%, respectively) are most prevalent. Hepatitis B is more common in females (0.8%) and in rural settings (0.6%) compared to males (0.3%) and urban settings (0.2%), respectively.
\nThe prevalence of congenital disabilities is the highest of all disabilities, with a significantly high prevalence in females (5.3%) and rural settings (3.5%) compared to males (0.9%) and urban settings (0.6%) respectively.
\nHypertension was followed by renal diseases (7.6%) and diabetes (6.2%). Other NCDs, including hypercholesterolemia, asthma, epilepsy, coronary heart disease, cancer, and thalassemia, exhibited lower overall prevalence rates ranging from 0.7% to 3.0%.
\nHypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and renal diseases showed higher prevalence rates in females (32.7%, 3.9%, and 8.3%, respectively) compared to males (25.0%, 1.9%, and 6.6%, respectively.
\nIn contrast, diabetes was highly prevalent among males (7.4%) compared to females (5.2%). Conditions such as asthma, coronary heart disease, and cancer did not exhibit statistically significant differences between the sexes (P = 0.72, P = 0.65, and P = 0.82, respectively).
\nThe study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the CDs, NCDs, disabilities and related risk factors across all 7 divisions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Though past research has explored the patterns of CDs, NCDs and disabilities in Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the evidence on the distribution of these health conditions across sex, age categories and settings is scarce.
\nThe findings indicate that females are predominantly in the pre-obesity or obesity category and are engaged in low levels of physical activity. They also exhibit a high prevalence of certain NCDs and CDs included in our study and tend to have comparatively lower quality of life.
\nThese findings are consistent with previous research conducted in LMICs, including those in South Asia, and with data from the World Health Organisation [55\u201357].
\nThe results of our study indicate more than half (52.0%) of the female participants were pre-obese or obese, which is consistent with the results of the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017\u201318, where 52% of females in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were found to be pre-obese or obese [58].
\nThese results indicate this segment of the population is at high risk for developing NCDs like type 2 diabetes and hypertension; 90% of people with type 2 diabetes [59] and 75% of people with hypertension are either overweight or obese [60].
\nThe present study has several advantages over earlier ones. We determined CDs, NCDs, and disabilities stratified by sex, age and setting, comprehensively analysing their distribution and impact.
\nThe findings of our study are generalizable to similar populations of the lower-middle-income countries with comparable demographic characteristics, cultural norms and healthcare systems.
\n\u201cGiven the triple burden of CDs, NCDs, and disabilities, as well as related risk factors, an organised approach is required to strengthen health policy and legislative frameworks,\u201d the study suggested.
\nImproving primary health care and ensuring universal health coverage are essential steps towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal 3.
\nPakistan must rapidly adopt and implement the guidance outlined in the National Health Vision 2016\u20132025 to achieve these objectives and improve the country\u2019s access, coverage, and quality of disease prevention and control interventions, it added.
\nAdditionally, integrated NCD service delivery at the primary healthcare level, supported by evidence-based guidelines, essential technologies, a well-trained health workforce, and robust health information systems, is also required to control the disease burden effectively.
\nThe authors also recommended incorporating and prioritising the WHO\u2019s best ways in NCD prevention that can further enhance the effectiveness of these interventions and contribute to the overall health and well-being of the population, thus achieving SDG targets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR A recent research study has identified hypertension as the leading prevalent non-communicable disease (NCD) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), signalling a growing public health challenge in the region. The findings underscore urgent need for targeted interventions, awareness campaigns, and improved healthcare infrastructure to address this critical issue. \u201cAmong all NCDs, hypertension stood out with highest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-461498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-peshawar"},"yoast_head":"\n