RESEARCH ARTICLE
Selected Non-communicable Disease Risk Factors and Mental Health of South African Durban-based Refugees: A Cross-sectional Study
Mateisi Wailer Thabana1, Jeanne Martin Grace1, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2024Volume: 17
E-location ID: e18749445277768
Publisher ID: e18749445277768
DOI: 10.2174/0118749445277768240301072459
Article History:
Received Date: 30/11/2023Revision Received Date: 26/12/2023
Acceptance Date: 09/01/2024
Electronic publication date: 22/04/2024
Collection year: 2024
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading contributor to mortality and morbidity worldwide, with refugees considered more susceptible to NCDs. Refugees often encounter difficulties in accessing healthcare, resulting in delayed diagnostic assessment and treatment of mental disorders and NCDs, leading to the deterioration of the condition. The study aimed to ascertain the prevalence of risk factors for NCDs and mental health among South African Durban-based refugees.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted among 121 randomly selected South African Durban-based refugees. Data on the metabolic risk factors for NCDs were collected using a modified version of the World Health Organisation (WHO) STEPwise approach to (NCDs) surveillance (STEPS) instrument. Participants' mental health disorders were determined with a Global Mental Health Assessment Tool-Primary Care Version questionnaire.
Results
A significant 38.80% of participants had normal BMI [x2 (5, n=47) = 82.55, p<.001], 24.0% were overweight [x2 (5, n=29) = 82.55, p<.001], 25.6% were obese class l [x2 (5, n=31) = 82.55, p<.001]. A significant 77.1% [x2 (2, n=64) = 76.79, p<.001] of the participants had desirable cholesterol levels, and 62.3% [x2 (2, n=71) = 44.57, p<.001] had normal fasting glucose levels. A significant 26.1% [x2 (4, n=31) = 64.82, p<.001] and 46.2% [x2 (4, n=55) = 64.82, p<.001] were classified as having hypertension stage I and II, respectively. A non-significant 32.2% and 25.0% experienced depression and anxiety.
Conclusions
The prevalence of hypertension and high BMI levels combined with mental disorders underscores the importance of healthcare service delivery to this vulnerable population in SA.
