Clustering of Non-communicable Diseases Risk Factors in Healthy Adults Aged 35 Years and Older in Shenzhen, China

Abstract

We assessed the prevalence of non- communicable diseases (NCDs) risk factors with a focus on their clustering among healthy adults in Shenzhen, China. Data from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey, comprising a regionally representative sample of 806 healthy adults aged 35 years or older, were obtained to determine the prevalence of five risk factors for NCDs. The prevalence of current smoking, central obesity, impaired fasting glucose, borderline hypertension, and borderline high total cholesterol was 19.97%, 28.29%, 4.47%, 10.55%, and 36.10%, respectively. A total 63.77% of participants had at least one risk factor. Upon examination of risk factor clustering, we observed that 7.57% of participants had at least three risk factors. Using this threshold as a cutoff, clustering of risk factors was associated with sex [odds ratio (OR) = 3.336, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.782 to 6.246], physical activity (OR = 1.913, 95% CI: 1.009 to 3.628), and BMI (OR = 7.376, 95% CI: 3.812 to 14.270). The prevalence of risk factors for NCDs is fairly high among healthy adults in Shenzhen, with a clustering tendency.

Keywords: Healthy adults; Non-communicable diseases; Prevalence; Risk factors.