Browsing by Author "Oommen, AM"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Intracluster correlation estimates from a World Health Organisation STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) survey for cardiovascular risk factors in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. Oommen AM1, Mini GK2, George K3.
    (Public Health, 2019-03) Oommen, AM; Mini, GK; George, K
    OBJECTIVES: Most World Health Organisation (WHO) STEPS surveys use cluster sampling to assess the prevalence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) for which design effects need to be estimated using intracluster correlation (ICCs) coefficients, for sample size calculation. Although there are many reports of risk factor surveys reported from developing countries, there are very few reports of ICCs for risk factors for NCDs, which can inform planning the appropriate sample size needed for such surveys. This study reports the ICCs for NCD risk factors, obtained from a WHO STEPS survey conducted in Vellore district, in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 48 urban clusters (wards) and nine rural clusters (villages) between 2011 and 2012, using the WHO STEPS methodology for assessing behavioural, anthropometric, physical and biochemical risk factors. The ICC estimates for various risk factors were obtained using loneway and xtmelogit commands using STATA to study clustering of risk factors. RESULTS: The number of respondents was 6196 adults aged 30-64 years. The median ICC of cardiovascular risk factors in the urban area was 0.046, while it was 0.064 in the rural area. Clustering was higher for behavioural risk factors such as physical activity (ICC: 0.179 rural, 0.049 urban) and fruit and vegetable intake (ICC: 0.105 rural, 0.091 urban) as compared with physical risk factors (ICCs for hypertension: 0.044 rural, 0.006 urban; body mass index: 0.046 rural, 0.041 urban) and biochemical outcomes such as fasting plasma glucose (ICC: 0.017 rural, 0.027 urban). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides estimates of ICCs for cardiovascular risk factors from Vellore, South India, as such data have not been reported from WHO STEPS surveys in India or neighbouring countries. Such estimates of ICCs if reported from various WHO STEPS being carried out across the country can contribute to better planning of epidemiological surveys. Clustering of behavioural risk factors at village/ward level as seen in this study points to the need for community-based interventions for health promotion, as spatial clustering influences behaviour, which in turn affects chronic disease outcomes.
  • Item
    Levels of physical inactivity in rural and urban Tamil Nadu, India: A cross-sectional study
    (Journal of Clinical and Preventive Cardiology, 2019-03) Devamani, CS; Oommen, AM; Mini, GK; Abraham, VJ; George, K
    Background and Objectives: Physical inactivity is an important cardiovascular risk factor. This study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with insufficient physical activity (PA) in urban and rural Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India, among adults aged 30–64 years. Methodology: A cross-sectional World Health Organization STEPS survey was carried out in 48 wards of Vellore Municipality and nine rural villages of Tamil Nadu in 2010–2012. Adults (n = 6164, men 43.9%) aged 30–64 years were interviewed using the Global PA Questionnaire (2390 urban and 3774 rural). Insufficient PA was defined as not meeting the recommendation of 150 min of moderate aerobic PA, or 75 min of vigorous aerobic PA, or an equivalent combination, achieving at least 600 metabolic equivalent-minutes per day. Results: The prevalence of insufficient PA was 63.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 61.3%–65.3%) in the urban area and 40.6% (95% CI: 39.0%–42.2%) in the rural area. Women had a higher prevalence of insufficient PA compared to men, in both urban (70.8% vs. 53.8%) and rural (44.5% vs. 35.6%) areas. Those with higher education (odds ratio [OR]: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.20–1.53) and who were unemployed (OR: 2.97, 95% CI: 2.59–3.39) reported insufficient PA which was significantly higher than their counterparts. While urban participants had higher leisure time PA, rural participants had higher work- and travel-related PA. Conclusions: The high prevalence of insufficient PA found in this study shows that targeted interventions are needed to reduce insufficient PA, especially for women and urban populations.