Community intervention for cardiovascular disease risk factors in Kalutara, Sri Lanka

The effectiveness of a 2015-17 community intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) risk factors is assessed in a Sri Lanka adult population, using a before-and-after study design.

Four contiguous Public Health Midwife (PHM) areas in Kalutara district (Western Province) were exposed to a Sri Lankan designed community health promotion initiatives (without screening) to lower CVD and T2DM risk factors. Pre- and post-intervention surveys (2014, n=1,019; 2017, n=908) were of 25-64 year males (M) and females (F) from dissimilar randomly selected clusters (villages or settlements) from PHMs, with probability of selection proportional to population size, followed by household sampling, then individual selection to yield equal-probability samples. Differences in resting blood pressure (BP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol, body mass index and tobacco smoking, adjusting for cluster sampling, age and socio-economic differences, were examined.

Hypertension prevalence declined from 25% to 16% (F) (p<.0001), and 21% to 17% (M). Both mean systolic and diastolic BP declined. T2DM declined from 18% to 13% (F), and 18% to 15% (M), as did mean fasting plasma glucose. Elevated total cholesterol declined from 21% to 15% in women (p=0.003) and mean cholesterol declined. Frequency distributions, medians and means of these continuous CVD risk factors shifted to lower levels, and were mostly statistically significant (p< 0.05).

Community health promotion can lower key CVD and T2DM risk factors. Lowering tobacco consumption in males and obesity remain challenges in Sri Lanka.