Page 95 - GHES-1-2

Global Health Econ Sustain Non-communicable diseases household survey

These findings are corroborated by the observation that et al., 2017). This discrepancy could be attributed to
the most important demographic change contributing to variations in the study population, as the study in the EMR
diabetes prevalence worldwide is the increasing proportion (Charara et al., 2017) specifically targeted cohorts aged
of elderly individuals, a trend seen across all countries above 14 years.
(Satman et al., 2023). The increasing prevalence of MD with age is consistent
In our current survey, the prevalence of BA was found to with the findings of the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program,
be 0.4%. This prevalence is notably lower when compared 2013), which reported a higher PR among individuals aged
to the 0.8% prevalence reported in the 2013 YNHDS (The 40 and above (Petrova & Khvostikova, 2021). However, this
DHS Program, 2013) among urban household members. trend contradicts a study conducted in Iran (Fakhari et al.,
However, our BA prevalence is much lower than that 2023), which found that the prevalence of MD in older
observed in Malawi (5%) (Gowshall & Taylor-Robinson, individuals was similar to that in adults and middle-aged
2018) and Uganda (11.02%) (Kirenga et al., 2019). This people. These discrepancies may be attributed to variations
difference may be attributed to variations in the age in sample selection, the operational definition of variables,
distribution of the survey participants and differences data collection methods, and assessment tools, all of
in genetic or environmental factors. Additionally, which are recognized as important factors contributing
we identified a significantly higher prevalence of BA to inconsistencies in the results. Furthermore, the survey
among females than males (0.5% vs. 0.3%). This gender conducted in our study relied solely on self-reporting
difference may be associated with asthma triggers and for diagnosis, which may have led to a lower prevalence
allergic comorbidities, such as allergic rhinitis and atopic compared to studies using standardized measures.
dermatitis, which are more common in females (Jo et al., Our study revealed an epilepsy prevalence of 0.19%
2023). However, this finding contradicts the findings of the across all age groups, a figure closely mirroring the 0.2%
2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013), which found no prevalence reported in the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS
gender difference in BA. It contradicts reported findings of Program, 2013) and the estimated prevalence of 0.69% in
a higher prevalence in males in the EMR (Alavinezhad & Arabic countries (Idris et al., 2021). Notably, our findings
Boskabady, 2018). Furthermore, the observed increase in contradict a higher prevalence reported in India (Panagariya
the BA prevalence with age aligns with the finding from et al., 2018). In terms of gender distribution, our study did
the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013). However, not find a significant difference between females and males,
this pattern contradicts the decreasing prevalence with in agreement with the findings of the 2016 Global Burden
age reported in the EMR reported by Alavinezhad & of Disease Study (Beghi et al., 2019). However, this finding
Boskabady (2018) and the study from Uganda (Kirenga diverges from the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013),
et al., 2019), which reported a higher prevalence of asthma which reported a doubled PR among males. The observed
among those aged 35 – 44 years compared to those either increase in the prevalence of epilepsy with age is consistent
younger or older than this age group. These variations in with the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study (Beghi et al.,
results could be attributed to differences in the targeted 2019). This finding may be attributed to the fact that older age
population groups, geographical and environmental groups are more susceptible to developing epilepsy compared
variations, and the operational definitions used. to younger populations. Elderly individuals are at greater risk
In the present study, the prevalence of MD is 0.27% of seizures, whether triggered by acute illnesses (“provoked”
among all age groups combined, which is slightly lower or “acute symptomatic” seizures) or occurring without
than the 0.4% prevalence reported in the 2013 YNHDS an obvious, immediate cause (“unprovoked” seizures)
(The DHS Program, 2013) among all age groups in urban (Liu et al., 2016, Lee, 2019). Regarding the prevalence of
areas of Yemen. The prevalence determined in our study epilepsy in Arabic countries, most studies have reported a
is lower than that observed among the adult population higher prevalence among males, with rates being up to 2-fold
in several published studies from different countries, higher in children and young adults (Benamer & Grosset,
such as 5.52% in India (Sagar et al., 2017) and 5.8% in 2009). These discrepancies may reflect genuine differences
Nigeria (Gureje et al., 2018). Furthermore, we identified a in genetic predisposition and structural or metabolic causes
significantly higher prevalence of MD among males than of epilepsy. Furthermore, the absence of a standard and
females (0.35% vs. 0.16%). This finding aligns with the well-accepted definition of epilepsy, along with the stigma
results of the 2013 YNHDS (The DHS Program, 2013)and associated with epilepsy in certain communities, where it
a study from Iran (Mohammadi et al., 2019). However, it is sometimes viewed as an “evil” attack, could potentially
contrasts with other studies that found a higher prevalence result in underreporting or households refraining from self-
of MD among females than males in the EMR (Charara reporting cases of epilepsy.

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1191