Perspectives for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases in Tanzania: Is Knowledge Translated into Practice?

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic Characteristics and NCD Risk Profile of Study Participants (N = 5121)

Variable	Frequency (%)
Age (Mean, SD)	47.2 (15.3)
Age group
18–34 years	1216 (23.8%)
35–54 years	2218 (43.3%)
≥55 years	1687 (32.9%)
Sex
Male	2006 (39.2%)
Female	3115 (60.8%)
Marital status
Single	562 (11.0%)
Married	3978 (77.7%)
Divorced	175 (03.4%)
Widowed	406 (07.9%)
Education
No formal	308 (06.0%)
Primary	1701 (33.2%)
Secondary	1639 (32.0%)
University	1473 (28.8%)
Occupation
Jobless/Student	1058 (20.6%)
Self-employed	2540 (49.6%)
Employed	1202 (23.5%)
Retired	321 (06.3%)
Participants per Region
Arusha	1016 (19.8%)
Dar es Salaam (DSM)	2481 (48.5%)
Geita	470 (09.2%)
Mtwara	627 (12.2%)
Zanzibar (ZnZ)	527 (10.3%)
Health insured
Yes	2258 (44.1%)
No	2863 (55.9%)
NCD Family history
Positive	1464 (28.6%)
Negative	3657 (71.4%)
NCD Risk Factors
Behavioral risks
Physical inactivity	4044 (79.0%)
Unhealthy diet (self-perception)	3594 (70.2%)
Tobacco use	106 (02.1%)
Alcohol consumption	903 (17.6%)
Biological risks
Overweight/Obese	3503 (68.4%)
Elevated blood pressure	2857 (55.8%)
High blood sugar	668 (13.0%)

Figure 1 Pattern of NCD risks across the 5 Regions.

Table 2 Participants’ Responses to the NCD Knowledge Questionnaire by Region (N = 5121)

Item	Question	Correct Response	Proportion Answered Correctly
			Arusha	DSM	Geita	Mtwara	ZnZ
Q1	Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are diseases of rich people	No	96.0%	78.5%	93.2%	91.7%	95.8%
Q2	Smoking does not increase a risk of NCDs	No	83.2%	63.8%	70.2%	67.9%	80.1%
Q3	Consuming a lot of vegetables and fruits increases the risk of NCDs	No	95.7%	86.6%	90.9%	89.8%	92.6%
Q4	Consumption of too much salt is a risk to NCDs	Yes	92.8%	53.1%	84.3%	84.7%	87.5%
Q5	Having excess body weight increases one’s risk of acquiring NCDs	Yes	96.4%	90.7%	88.3%	93.3%	90.1%
Q6	A family history of NCDs increases one’s risk of acquiring NCDs	Yes	73.3%	64.8%	76.6%	76.2%	68.7%
Q7	Regular consumption of red meat is healthier than white meat	No	92.8%	75.4%	83.8%	78.3%	82.0%
Q8	NCDs are curable upon completion of prescribed dose.	No	53.8%	43.3%	42.1%	50.2%	41.9%
Q9	Diabetes increases one’s risk of NCDs	Yes	82.3%	76.3%	79.6%	79.1%	78.2%
Q10	Men are at higher risk of NCDs compared to women	Yes	40.9%	42.2%	46.2%	45.9%	41.6%
Q11	Excessive alcohol drinking increases one’s risk of acquiring NCDs	Yes	95.3%	89.6%	91.3%	94.6%	94.7%
Q12	NCDs are the leading cause of deaths globally	Yes	69.4%	68.0%	72.1%	69.9%	77.8%
Q13	A person may know that he/she has NCD based on signs and symptoms alone	No	32.2%	38.1%	26.8%	31.7%	26.4%
Q14	A person with NCDs may infect a close person	No	95.5%	89.2%	86.2%	88.5%	88.8%
Q15	High blood pressure is a risk factor of NCDs	Yes	93.2%	89.9%	91.1%	92.5%	92.4%
Q16	Animal fat is healthier than plant oil	No	90.9%	80.6%	77.7%	81.0%	83.3%
Q17	Old age is a risk factor for NCDs	Yes	89.7%	79.1%	87.0%	89.6%	83.3%
Q18	Stress increases one’s risk of acquiring NCDs	Yes	97.7%	92.2%	96.4%	95.5%	95.1%
Q19	Exercising regularly increases one’s risk of acquiring NCDs	No	97.1%	93.5%	93.0%	90.6%	91.8%
Q20	High cholesterol in blood prevents one from NCDs	No	95.0%	81.7%	87.2%	85.0%	81.6%
Q21	NCDs are not preventable	No	81.1%	75.3%	78.5%	78.3%	78.6%
Q22	Doing health check-ups frequently is harmful	No	96.9%	89.4%	89.2%	88.7%	88.6%
Mean Score			83.7%	74.6%	78.7%	79.3%	79.1%

Table 3 NCD Knowledge Across Various NCD Risk Subgroups (N=5121)

Attribute	Comparative Groups	NCD Knowledge		p-value
		Good	≤Moderate
Physical activity	Active	824 (76.5%)	253 (23.5%)
	Underactive	2776 (68.6%)	1268 (31.4%)	<0.001
Eating habit	Healthy eating	1079 (70.7%)	448 (29.3%)
	Unhealthy	2521 (70.1%)	1073 (29.9%)	0.6
Tobacco use	Smoker	54 (50.9%)	52 (49.1%)
	Non-smoker	3546 (70.7%)	1469 (29.3%)	<0.001
Drinking habit	Alcohol Drinker	624 (69.1%)	279 (30.9%)
	Non-drinker	2976 (70.6%)	1242 (29.4%)	0.4
Body weight	Healthy weight	1053 (65.1%)	565 (34.9%)
	Excess body weight	2540 (72.5%)	963 (27.5%)	<0.001
Blood pressure	Normotension	1406 (62.1%)	858 (37.9%)
	Hypertension	2194 (76.8%)	663 (23.2%)	<0.001
Blood sugar	Normoglycemia	3065 (68.8%)	1388 (31.2%)
	Diabetes	535 (80.1%)	133 (19.9%)	<0.001

Figure 2 Awareness of NCD Risks versus Presence of Risky Behaviors (N=5121).

Figure 3 Pattern of NCD Risk factors among participants with Good NCD Knowledge (n=3600).

Data Sharing Statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.