Prevalence of self-reported diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in individuals seeking State funding in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jegh.2013.02.002How to use a DOI?
- Keywords
- Hypertension; Diabetes; Heart disease; Gender specificity; Age; Education
- Abstract
Objective: Diabetes, hypertension and heart disease inflict a heavy health burden on the Caribbean Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. This study assessed the prevalence of self- reported diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in lower socioeconomically placed individuals accessing welfare grants.
Method: Data collected between July 2008 and June 2009 were analyzed from 14,793 responses. The survey sought information on education, average monthly income, health, housing, and household facilities.
Results: Self-reported disease prevalence was 19.5% (95% CI: 18.9–20.2) for diabetes mellitus; 30.2% (95% CI: 29.5–30.9) for hypertension; and 8.2% (95% CI: 7.7–8.6) for cardiac disease. Diabetes and cardiac disease had equivalent gender frequency; hypertension was more prevalent in women (p < .001). Disease prevalence was highest in Indo-Trinidadians, married and divorced subjects, non-Christians and increased with age. Those with primary education alone were at greatest risk.
Conclusion: Trinidad and Tobago have a high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. Hypertension showed gender specificity in women. Prevalence was highest in Indo-Trinidadians, increased with age, and primary education alone was a risk factor. Interventions to arrest the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases to promote wellness are needed in Trinidad and Tobago.
- Copyright
- © 2013 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
- Open Access
- This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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TY - JOUR AU - Derek Chadee AU - Terence Seemungal AU - Lexley M. Pinto Pereira AU - Mary Chadee AU - Rohan Maharaj AU - Surujpal Teelucksingh PY - 2013 DA - 2013/03/16 TI - Prevalence of self-reported diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in individuals seeking State funding in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies JO - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health SP - 95 EP - 103 VL - 3 IS - 2 SN - 2210-6014 UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2013.02.002 DO - 10.1016/j.jegh.2013.02.002 ID - Chadee2013 ER -