Contrasting socioeconomic inequality with noncommunicable diseases: Insights from a population-based survey using the...

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the major causes of mortality across the globe, which impose a substantial burden on health care systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The present study aimed to determine socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of NCDs using the concentration index (CI).

This cross-sectional study was conducted on the baseline data of the Bandar Kong cohort. The principal component analysis was used to determine people's socioeconomic status (SES). The CI and Lorenz Curve were used for the assessment of socioeconomic inequality. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between SES and the prevalence of NCDs. A p Value less than 0.05 is considered significant.

Frequency and prevalence of diabetes was 653 (16.22%), hypertension 848 (21.06%), chronic lung diseases 161 (4%), epilepsy 70 (1.74%), mental disorders 191 (4.74%), stillbirth 299 (13.94%), thyroid disorders 391 (9.71%) and depression 146 (3.63%). CI for the prevalence of diabetes was [-0.107, %95 CI: -0.146 to -0.068], hypertension [-0.122, %95 CI: -0.155 to -0.088], chronic lung disease [-0.116, %95 CI: -0.202 to -0.03], psychiatric disorders [-0.230, %95 CI: -0.304 to -0.155], depression [-0.132, %95 CI: -0.220 to-0.043] and stillbirth [-0.162, %95 CI: -0.220 to -0.105]. The Gini index was negative for all these diseases, indicating that these are significantly concentrated in people of poor SES.

The findings suggest that selected NCDs were concentrated among the poor and the low-income. Particular attention may be necessary to address the problem of NCDs among these groups.