SCREENING FOR DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION IN WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENTS

Background: Non communicable diseases are major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to WHO, among NCDs, cardiovascular disease accounts for the highest number of deaths (17 million), followed by cancer (7.6 million), respiratory diseases (4.2 million), and diabetes (1.3 million). (1) These NCDs share common behavioral risk factors, namely, tobacco use, excessive use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity, which, if eliminated, could prevent up to 80% of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 Diabetes, and more than one-third of cancers (2). Therefore, effective primary prevention methods are required for early detection and management of such cases. Objectives: To screen general public for non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension To obtaining data regarding prevalence of NCDs in high risk groups (like the people working in Panorama Shopping Centre), To assess the prevalence of factors like tobacco consumption and sedentary lifestyle in working class To counsel general public on the pathology of diabetes and hypertension, and to reiterate the importance of healthy life style for prevention and control of NCDs. Study design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Study Setting: Panorama shopping centre, Lahore. Study Duration: 1 month (April 2017 – May 2017). Respondents and Methods: A screening form was devised using the screening guidelines for Hypertension and diabetes by American diabetes association (3) and U.S preventive task force. Blood Sugar random was used for diabetes and office blood pressure measuring method using manual sphygmomanometer was used for hypertension screening. Data was collected and then analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A total of 270 people were screened for Hypertension and Diabetes, 5 of which were females. Approximately 82% of the participants were working at Panorama Center in various capacities. Participants were categorized into 4 age groups, with majority of them falling between 20-39 years of age. The ages ranged from 16-84 years with a mean age of 38.85. Participants less than 16 years of age were excluded as the guidelines by USPTF approve screening in age more than 18 years of age (4).14 cases (5.2%) were screened positive for Diabetes and 27 (10%) were screened positive for hypertension. Conclusion: The absence of population-wide screening in Pakistan leads to lack of awareness of general public about the importance of screening. There is a dire need to generate awareness regarding the various non-communicable diseases, which pose a significant burden on the health systems. Considering the significance of risk factors for development of diabetes and hypertension and the fact that control of risk factors supplemented with early diagnosis can significantly reduce the risk of disease development, it is recommended that special emphasis must be given to spread awareness about disease prevention and early screening. Keywords: Screening, Diabetes, Hypertension, Non-communicable diseas