Noncommunicable disease risk profile of factory workers in Delhi

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming more prevalent in India. The data for presence of NCDs and its risk factors among factory workers is deficient in India.

A cross-sectional comparative study was carried out among 37 factory workers and equal number of comparable subjects from general population. Screening for presence of diabetes along with its risk factors was made in both the groups using pretested predesigned World Health Organization STEPwise approach to surveillance (WHO STEPS) questionnaire in rural area of Delhi. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 software. The estimation of risk in two groups was done with calculation of odds ratio (OR). P values less than 0.05 were considered significant.

A total of 74 participants were included in the present study. Hypertension and diabetes was present in 13.5 and 5.4% of factory workers and four (10.8%) and three (8.8%) subjects in comparative group, respectively. Seven (18.9%) factory and eight (21.6%) non-factory subjects fell in the category of current smoker or smokeless tobacco users. High density lipoprotein levels were found abnormal among one (2.7%) factory worker and nine (24.3%) subjects in comparative group (P-value = 0.01). Behavioral risk factors, alcohol consumption, and fruits and vegetable intake were significantly different among two groups.

Factory workers were having better profile than non-factory subjects except for risk factors such as alcohol intake and inadequate fruits and vegetable intake. However, healthy worker effect phenomenon cannot be ruled out.