Prevalence of risk factors of non-communicable diseases in young adult populations of Shuklagandaki Municipality, Tanahun District, Nepal

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are known as chronic diseases which do not transmit from person to person. NCDs have a long duration and slow progression. Chronic non-communicable diseases constitute the major burdens of illness and disability in almost all countries of the world. The study assessed the prevalence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases among young adults in the Shuklagandaki Municipality of Tanahun district.A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted from June to October 2018 among young adults (20-40 years) in the Shuklagandaki Municipality of Tanahun district. The required study sample size was 336. Multistage probability sampling was applied to study sites and respondents and used World Health Organization’s (WHO) STEPWISE SURVEY 1 and 2 to collect data. For this, we adopted WHO’s STEPS tool edition 2.2, Nepalese translated by NHRC during the stepwise survey in 2013. The proportion of smoking was 14% which was higher in males (30%) than in females (6.2%). Alcohol consumption among young adults was 23.5%. Physical inactivity was seen among 38.4% of respondents. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and CVDs were 5.7%, 6% and 7% respectively. Sex and marital status were found to be significantly associated (p-value<0.005) with smoking. Likewise, sex and monthly income were associated (P-value<0.005) with alcohol consumption. Sex, marital status and education were associated (P-value<0.005) with physical inactivity. Smoking and sitting time were associated (P-value<0.005) with hypertension. The study showed a high prevalence of smoking and alcoholism amongst the young adult population. Awareness programs on prevalent risk factors have to be conducted for preventing exposure to risk factors.