Prevalence and correlates of multiple non-communicable disease risk factors among adults in Zambia: results of the first national STEPS survey in 2017.

introductionthe prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) is increasing in African countries. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and correlates of multiple NCD risk factors (NCDRF) among the adult population in Zambia.

methodsnationally representative cross-sectional data from 4,302 individuals aged 18-69 years of the "2017 Zambia STEPS survey" were analysed.

resultsthe prevalence of insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption was 90.4%, followed by overweight/obesity (24.4%), low physical activity (19.5%), hypertension (18.9%), daily tobacco use (10.7%), sedentary behaviour (8.9%), suicidal behaviour (8.5%), alcohol dependence (7.4%), raised total cholesterol (7.4%), and diabetes (6.2%). The distribution of NCDRF was 41.5% 0-1 NCDRF, 48.2% 2-3, 10.4% 4-10, and 26.7% 3-10 NCDRF. In adjusted ordinal logistic regression analysis, compared to persons aged 18-34 years, individuals aged 50-69 years were 3.58 times (AOR: 3.58, 95% CI: 3.95-4.49) more likely to have a higher number of NCDRF. Women were 24% (AOR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.03-1.49) more likely than men to have a higher number of NCDRF. Persons living in urban locations were 71% (AOR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.43-2.16) more likely than persons living in rural locations to have a higher number of NCDRF, and compared to individuals with lower than primary education, persons with more than primary education were 20% (AOR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.65-0.98) less likely to have a higher number of NCDRF.

conclusionmore than one in four study participants had three to ten NCDRF and several associated factors were found that can aid to target interventions.