title: Prevalence of obesity, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption by socioeconomic status among six communities in Nicaragua.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the prevalence of noncommunicable disease (NCD) risk factors (overweight/obesity, tobacco smoking, and alcohol consumption) and identify correlations between these and sociodemographic characteristics in western and central Nicaragua.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study of 1 355 participants from six communities in Nicaragua conducted in September 2007-July 2009. Demographic and NCD risk-related health behavior information was collected from each individual, and their body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, diabetes status, and renal function were assessed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and (non-stratified and stratified) logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1 355 study participants, 22.0% were obese and 55.1% were overweight/obese. Female sex, higher income, and increasing age were significantly associated with obesity. Among men, lifelong urban living correlated with obesity (Odds Ratio [OR] = 4.39, 1.18-16.31). Of the total participants, 31.3% reported ever smoking tobacco and 47.7% reported ever drinking alcohol. Both tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption were strikingly more common among men (OR = 13.0, 8.8-19.3 and 15.6, 10.7-22.6, respectively) and lifelong urban residents (OR = 2.42, 1.31-4.47 and 4.10, 2.33-7.21, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a high prevalence of obesity/overweight across all income levels. Women were much more likely to be obese, but men had higher rates of tobacco and alcohol use. The rising prevalence of NCD risk factors among even the poorest subjects suggests that an epidemiologic transition in underway in western and central Nicaragua whereby NCD prevalence is shifting to all segments of society. Raising awareness that health clinics can be used for chronic conditions needs to be priority.
authors.affiliation: Barnes Jewish Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America. laux.timothy@gmail.com
authors.forename: Timothy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Laux
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Bert
authors.forename: Marvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Unruh
authors.forename: Aurora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aragon
authors.forename: Cecilia Torres
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Lacourt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000886:Anthropometry; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009527:Nicaragua / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D064424:Tobacco Use / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016482:Urinalysis; D055815:Young Adult