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Global Health Econ Sustain Non-communicable diseases household survey

measures, as demonstrated by a study conducted in India
Vellakkal et al. (2013).
Based on our findings, the prevalence of NCDs was
significantly higher among females than males (5.1% vs.
3.8%). This trend aligns with the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS
Program, 2013) as well as with several studies from Ethiopia
(Abebe et al., 2017, (The DHS Program, 2013), Esteghamati
et al., 2009). It is worth noting that the prevalence of the
five NCDs investigated in this study exhibited an upward
trajectory with age, consistent with the findings of the 2013
Figure 12. Prevalence of epilepsy across age groups in Sana’a City, Yemen,
for 2017 (n = 3014*). *Age information is missing in 75 cases out of 3,014 YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013), Zhao et al. (2018).
epilepsy patients. The current study identified an HTN prevalence of
2.3% among all age groups combined. This finding aligns
4. Discussion with the results of the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program,
The morbidity and mortality associated with NCD 2013)), which reported a nearly similar prevalence of 2.7%
in Yemen are still significantly underestimated. This among household members in urban areas of Yemen.
underestimation prompted the first house-to-house survey However, the prevalence identified in this study is lower
aimed at actively identifying cases of HTN, DM, BA, MD, in comparison to findings in certain studies in different
and epilepsy. While the data were collected in 2017 from 13 countries, such as 31.9% in Ethiopia (Abebe et al., 2017) and
governorates, including Sana’a City, the ongoing crises and 26.4% in Uganda (Guwatudde et al., 2015), both of which
a lack of financial support hindered the entry and analysis targeted population aged 20 years or older. Our results
of the survey data. Fortunately, through the assistance of further demonstrated a highly significant difference in the
the TEPHINET mini-grant, data from Sana’a City has now prevalence of HTN between females and males (3.1% vs.
been successfully entered, analyzed, and reported. The 1.6%). This trend is consistent with the findings of the 2013
findings from this analysis hold the potential to provide YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013) and a study from Iran
the MoPHP with evidence-based data, which will be (Esteghamati et al., 2009), which also reported a higher
instrumental in decision-making and the development prevalence of HTN in females. However, it contradicts the
of a comprehensive plan of action for the prevention results of a study from Nepal (Aryal et al., 2015), which
and control of NCDs. Furthermore, the results from the found HTN to be significantly more common in males. In
analysis of Sana’a City’s survey data may contribute to addition, our study showed that the prevalence of HTN
raising awareness among key NCD stakeholders and increased with age, consistent with the findings of the
the donor community about the magnitude of the NCD 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013) and the Uganda
problem. The heightened awareness, in turn, may facilitate study (Guwatudde et al., 2015) that similarly observed an
the acquisition of funding required to enter and analyze increase in HTN prevalence with advancing age.
the data from the 2017 house-to-house NCD survey In the case of DM, the prevalence was found to be 2.2%
in the remaining governorates, ultimately offering a among all age groups combined. This finding closely aligns
comprehensive understanding of the NCD landscape in with the results of the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program,
Yemen. 2013), which reported a prevalence of 2.3% for urban areas
Our results indicate that one-fourth of the surveyed of Yemen. However, the prevalence determined in our
households have at least one member affected by one or analysis is lower than the 4.9% reported in Ethiopia (Abebe
more of the following five NCDs: HTN, DM, BA, epilepsy, et al., 2017). In addition, we observed that the prevalence
and MD. The overall prevalence of these five NCDs is 4.4%, of DM was significantly higher among females than males
which is notably lower than the 12.2% prevalence reported (2.3% vs. 2.1%). This trend is consistent with the findings
in the 2013 Yemen National Health and Demographic of the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013). However,
Survey (YNHDS) (The DHS Program, 2013). This variance it contrasts with a study from Saudi Arabia, which reported
may be attributed to the discrepancy in the number of a higher prevalence of DM in males than females (Sharma
NCDs included in the 2013 YNHDS, which accounted for et al., 2021). Moreover, the prevalence of DM in our study
26 NCDs compared to only five in this survey. Nevertheless, increased with age, with the highest prevalence observed in
these findings might only represent a fraction of the actual individuals aged 70 years or older. This trend is consistent
NCD burden. This is because our results depend on self- with the findings of the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program,
reporting of diagnosed cases rather than standardized 2013) and a study from Saudi Arabia (Sharma et al., 2021).

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 8 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1191