Prevalence and awareness of risk factors and behaviours of coronary heart disease in an urban population of Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan: A community survey

Sunita Dodani, Rozina Mistry, Muna Farooqi, Aftab Khwaja, Riaz Qureshi, Khawar Kazmi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

48 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and awareness of risk factors and risk behaviours of coronary heart disease (CHD) in the lower middle class residing in urban localities of Karachi, a mega city of Pakistan. Methods: The design consisted of a cross-sectional community based survey in the lower middle class urban localities of Karimabad, Garden and Kharardar in Karachi, Pakistan. One thousand four hundred adults (18 years and above) registered with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) participated in the survey. Life style, self-reported risk variables, blood pressure and anthropometric measurements were recorded. Results: Prevalence of hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes were 38.5, 10.7 and 9.1 per cent, respectively. 52.2 per cent of the sample was overweight or obese; 64.8 per cent never exercised; 11.9 per cent had two or more major risk factors of CHD. Conclusion: The communities studied showed a very high prevalence of hypertension, obesity and a sedentary life style. Despite a high literacy rate, awareness regarding CHD risk factors was low. This underlines the need for measures to increase awareness regarding CHD and its risk factors and a healthy lifestyle in the developing countries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)245-249
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Public Health
Volume26
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2004

Keywords

  • Coronary heart disease
  • Developing countries
  • Hypertension
  • Prevalence
  • Risk factors

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