2010-12-31-世界卫生组织-2011_STEPS_Country_report_Vanuatu_107页_3mb

Summary of Vanuatu NCD Risk Factors STEPS Report (May 2013)

Core Content

The Vanuatu NCD STEPS report provides a comprehensive assessment of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors among adults aged 25–64 years, using the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach to NCD surveillance. Conducted between August and October 2011, the survey involved 4,649 participants with a 94% response rate, offering a robust dataset for policy development and intervention planning.

The report outlines the prevalence of key NCD risk factors, including tobacco and betel nut use, kava and alcohol consumption, poor eating habits, physical inactivity, obesity, raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose, and high cholesterol levels. It also highlights the risk of developing a cardiovascular event within the next 10 years, based on these risk factors.

Main Objectives

• To assess the prevalence of major modifiable risk factors for NCDs.
• To compare these risk factors across different age groups and between genders.
• To use the data to estimate future disease burden and propose intervention strategies.

Key Findings

Tobacco Use

• 45.8% of men and 4% of women were current smokers.
• The mean age of starting smoking was 20.2 years, with the youngest age group (25–34) starting at 18.8 years.
• Manufactured cigarettes were the most common type smoked, especially by women.
• Smoking and kava consumption were closely linked, with 73.7% of men and 28.2% of women smoking while drinking kava.

Alcohol Consumption

• Only 12.0% of men and less than 3% of women were current drinkers.
• Over 70% of women and 23% of men reported being lifetime abstainers from alcohol.
• Among those who drank, 21.9% of men and 15.2% of women engaged in binge drinking.

Fruit and Vegetable Intake

• On average, men consumed fruit 3.9 days a week and women 3.9 days a week.
• Vegetables were consumed 5.5 days a week on average.
• 58.2% of men and 65.0% of women consumed less than 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day.

Physical Activity

• 73.9% of participants reported high levels of physical activity.
• Men were more physically active than women: 81.7% of men vs. 66.9% of women.
• Men engaged in 336.0 minutes of physical activity per day, compared to 232.5 minutes for women.

Overweight and Obesity

• 18.8% of the population was classified as obese.
• Obesity was more prevalent in women (23.3%) than in men (13.9%).
• The 45–54 age group had the highest prevalence of obesity for both genders.

Blood Pressure

• 28.6% of the sample had raised blood pressure.
• The prevalence increased with age, with men showing a more than doubling in the 55–64 age group (from 22.4% to 52.6%).
• Women also showed a significant increase, from 12.0% to 57.8%.

Blood Glucose

• 21.2% of participants had raised blood glucose.
• The prevalence increased with age, particularly among women aged 55–64 (up to 33.3%).

Total Cholesterol

• 36.5% of the sample had raised total cholesterol (≥5.0 mmol/L or ≥190 mg/dl).
• Men had a higher prevalence (38.4%) than women (34.7%).
• In the 45–54 age group, 46.2% of men and 49.1% of women had raised cholesterol levels.

Cardiovascular Risk

• 3.6% of participants had a >30% risk of a fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular event within the next 10 years.
• The risk level increased with age, showing a stepwise trend across age groups.

Key Recommendations

• Develop a national NCD policy that prioritizes NCD interventions in the development agenda.
• Ensure political commitment and resource mobilization to support the implementation of the policy.
• Coordinate a multi-sectoral NCD prevention and control strategy, involving relevant stakeholders.
• Expand screening and early diagnosis of NCDs, and strengthen management systems to prevent complications and reduce premature deaths.
• Establish a functional surveillance system to monitor NCD data systematically and regularly.
• Conduct national STEPS surveys every 5–7 years and mini STEPS surveys every 2 years to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
• Make NCD data available for country comparisons and participate in inter-country reviews to adopt best practices in NCD prevention and control.

Conclusion

The survey highlights the growing burden of NCDs in Vanuatu, particularly in terms of raised blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels. While there are positive trends in physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, the high prevalence of smoking among men and alcohol consumption among men remain significant concerns. The findings emphasize the need for preventive measures, policy development, and multi-sectoral collaboration to address NCDs effectively and to reduce their impact on public health and national development.