Prevalence of risk factors for noncommunicable diseases in Jalalabad city, Afghanistan, evaluated using the WHO STEPwise approach

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a growing public health challenge.This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of common risk factors for NCDs among the adult population an urban setting in the eastern province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan.In a randomized, cluster sample survey of households the WHO STEPwise method was modified and used to collect demographic, behavioural and clinical data from 1200 adults (61% females) in Jalalabad in 2013.Blood samples were collected for biochemical testing.The prevalence of overweight/obesity, diabetes and hypertension were 57.4%, 11.4% and 24.4% respectively.Among respondents, 8.0% reported being current cigarette smokers and 13.7% used mouth snuff; 69.8% and 19.6% had < 3 servings of fruits and of vegetables respectively in a week; and 33.5% and 57.8% reported vigorous and moderate physical activity respectively.Tailored interventions on risk factors of NCDs are needed in urban areas in Afghanistan. ‫ـة‬