Chronic Disease Risk Factors Study: 2011 – 2013
In Partnership with Public Health Foundation of India / South Asia Network for Chronic Diseases
Funding Support from Wellcome Trust
Background
Chronic Disease Risk Factors Study (CDRF) was a two-year (2011-2013) multi-site community study, carried out in collaboration with three partner institutions:
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- Voluntary Health Services (VHS, Chennai)
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDR-Bangladesh)
- Sangath (Goa)
Purpose
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- Estimate the prevalence of household and individual CDRF and their outcomes
- Evaluate the adequacy of diagnosis and treatment of CDRF
- Study the feasibility, acceptability and validation of diagnostic tools and electronic data capture
- Establish teams and infrastructure for research and scale up with higher sample size and long-term follow-up
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Focused on four Chronic Disease Risk Factors
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- Tobacco use
- Alcohol consumption
- Physical activity
- Diet
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Measured four outcomes
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- Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Blood pressure
- Lung function
- Visual acuity
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Methodology
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Piloted and developed appropriate methods for measuring biological and epidemiological components required to assess chronic diseases and their risk factors in households
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Tested feasibility, acceptability and scalability of conducting a wide range of measurements in the home and clinic using electronic data capture tools among rural and urban populations
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Sample comprised of children and adult members drawn from households and community based clinics
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Phase I: A baseline survey was carried out to estimate the prevalence of chronic diseases and distribution of risk factors
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Phase II: Focused on developing a large cohort for comprehensive chronic disease research
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Study was carried out at three selected sites located in the Southern periphery of Chennai. Respondents comprised 3,500 persons aged two years and above
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A special feature of the study was the development of an electronic data capture system to monitor data quality and track progress of data collection
Key Findings
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Alcohol dependent men are more likely to experience depression leading to difficulties in family and social life, problems at work, legal troubles and lower quality of physical health
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Women who live with alcoholic husbands do not show any increased tendency for depression – this may be due to adaptive responses from wives to stabilize stressful situations and restore harmony in the household
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An increasing trend in suicidal attempt by women was observed in households where men abuse alcohol
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Work based active travel is an effective way to meet recommended physical activity levels in rural settings
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Increasing physical activity helps reduce obesity among men and women and protects against weight gain