Prevalence of risk factors for noncommunicable diseases in an indigenous community in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala

• Main Authors: David Chen, Álvaro Rivera-Andrade, Jessica González, David Burt, Carlos Mendoza-Montano, James Patrie, Max Luna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2017
• Subjects: Enfermedades cardiovasculares; enfermedades metabólicas; factores de riesgo; obesidad; población indígena; Guatemala; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/afaa057940894c06a5c5ee169e9a3312

ABSTRACT Objective To describe the prevalence of noncommunicable disease (NCD) risk factors and assess knowledge of those risk factors in the indigenous community of Santiago Atitlán in Guatemala, a lower-middle income country. Methods A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted using a modified version of the World Health Organization’s STEPS protocol. Adults aged 20–65 years were surveyed regarding demographics and NCD risk factors, and the survey was followed by anthropometric and biochemical measurements. Results Out of 501 screened individuals, 350 respondents were enrolled. The mean age was 36.7 years, and 72.3% were women. Over 90% reported earning less than US$ 65 per month. Almost 80% were stunted. Among women, 37.3% were obese and over three-quarters had central obesity. Over three-quarters of the entire group had dyslipidemia and 18.3% had hypertension, but only 3.0% had diabetes. Overall, 36.0% of participants met criteria for metabolic syndrome. There was no significant association between participants’ education and NCD risk factors except for an inverse association with obesity by percent body fat. Conclusions Santiago Atitlán is a rural, indigenous Guatemalan community with high rates of poverty and stunting coexisting alongside high rates of obesity, particularly among women. Additionally, high rates of hypertension and dyslipidemia were found, but a low rate of diabetes mellitus. Knowledge of NCDs and their risk factors was low, suggesting that educational interventions may be a high-yield, low-cost approach to combating NCDs in this community.