Trial reportBMC public health2019
The effect of youths as change agents on cardiovascular disease risk factors among adult neighbours: a cluster randomised controlled trial in Sri Lanka.
Trial report in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary outcomes of community-based CVD preventive interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Public health nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of lifestyle interventions on cardiovascular risk factors in South Asians: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- The effect of youths as change agents on self-rated health status and happiness among adult neighbors: a cluster randomized controlled trial in Sri Lanka.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- The Urgent Need to Harness Public Health Interventions to Tackle the Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases in Africa: Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Delays in Cardiovascular Emergency Responses in Africa: Health System Failures or Cultural Challenges?Global health, science and practice · 2024Article
- Review
- Adolescents' Perspective Regarding a Community-Wide Mass Drug Administration Program for Soil-Transmitted Helminths in India.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- Article
- Community-Based Interventions for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.Public health reviews · 2021Article
- Correction to: The effect of youths as change agents on cardiovascular disease risk factors among adult neighbours: a cluster randomised controlled trial in Sri Lanka.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Healthy lifestyle index and its association with hypertension among community adults in Sri Lanka: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2020Article
- Trends in body mass index among ever-married Bangladeshi women, 2004-14: evidence from nationally representative population-based surveys.Journal of nutritional scienceArticle
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMobilising non-professional health workers has been successful in improving community health, but the effectiveness of an education program targeting youths in a community-based approach remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of an intervention with youth on cardiovascular disease risk factors of community adults.
methodsA 12-month cluster randomised trial was conducted in a semi-urban area of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Facilitators trained youth club members aged 15-29 years to assess cardiovascular disease risk factors and take actions in the community to address relevant issues. The control group received no intervention. Body weight and blood pressure as primary outcomes and lifestyle of adults as secondary outcomes were measured pre- and post-intervention. Multilevel linear and logistic regressions were used to assess the effects of the intervention on changes in continuous and binary outcomes, respectively, from baseline to endpoint.
resultsOf 512 participants at baseline, 483 completed the final assessment after the intervention. Regarding primary outcomes, the intervention group showed a significantly greater decrease in body weight after intervention than the control group. The mean (95% confidence interval) difference of body weight change for intervention versus control group was - 2.83 kg (- 3.31, - 2.35). There was no statistically significant difference in blood pressure between the two groups. Turning to the secondary outcomes, in diet, the intervention group had a higher probability of consuming at least one serving/day of fruits (p = 0.02) and a lower probability of consuming snacks twice/day or more (p < 0.001) than the control group.
conclusionsAn intervention employing youths as change agents was effective in lowering body weight among community adults in Sri Lanka.
trial registrationTrial registration number: SLCTR/2017/002 , Name of registry: Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry, Date of registration: 19th January 2017, Date of enrolment of the first participant to the trial: 1st February 2017.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.