Exploring Risk Constellations for Noncommunicable Diseases: A Community-Based Study From Northern India
1Community Medicine, Baba Kinaram Autonomous State Medical College, Chandauli, IND.
Cureus
|December 8, 2025
Summary
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) pose a significant public health challenge in rural India due to widespread risk factors. Interventions must shift to community-led strategies to address this NCD burden.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Rural Health
Background:
- Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a growing public health concern in rural India.
- Risk factors for NCDs, including behavioral and intermediate factors, are highly prevalent in these communities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distribution and clustering of NCD risk factors among rural adults in North India.
- To identify predictors of high-risk status for NCDs in a rural population.
Main Methods:
- A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in three villages in Varanasi district, North India.
- 425 adults aged 25-64 years were selected using multistage, stratified random sampling.
- Data were collected using a culturally adapted WHO STEPwise questionnaire over one year (February 2019 - January 2020).
Main Results:
- High prevalence of behavioral risks: inadequate fruit/vegetable intake (99.8%), physical inactivity (91.1%), high salt intake (~83%), tobacco use (36.7%), and alcohol intake (21.9%).
- Intermediate risks included hypertension (31.5%), central obesity (28.9%), and overweight/obesity (25.4%).
- 53% of individuals were high-risk (≥5 risk factors); age (45-64 years) and lower education were significant predictors of high-risk status.
Conclusions:
- Significant clustering of modifiable NCD risk factors necessitates a shift from individual-focused to community-wide interventions.
- Urgent implementation of macro-level, community-led strategies is required to combat the NCD epidemic in rural India.
Keywords:
and intermediate risk factorsbehavioural risk factorsnon-communicable diseasesnon-modifiable risk factorsrisk constellationMore Related Videos
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