National Research Council, Neuroscience Institute, Padova, Italy; Department of Community Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana;
Department of Community Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Glob Health Action. 2014 Apr 15;7:21292. doi: 10.3402/gha.v7.21292. eCollection 2014.
In Ghana, the older adult population is projected to increase from 5.3% of the total population in 2015 to 8.9% by 2050. National and local governments will need information about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in this population in order to allocate health system resources and respond to the health needs of older adults.
The 2007/08 Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 1 in Ghana used face-to-face interviews in a nationally representative sample of persons aged 50-plus years. Individual respondents were asked about their overall health, diagnosis of 10 chronic non-communicable conditions, and common health risk factors. A number of anthropometric and health measurements were also taken in all respondents, including height, weight, waist and hip circumferences, and blood pressure (BP).
This paper includes 4,724 adults aged 50-plus years. The highest prevalence of self-reported chronic conditions was for hypertension [14.2% (95% CI 12.8-15.6)] and osteoarthritis [13.8%, (95% CI 11.7-15.9)]. The figure for hypertension reached 51.1% (95% CI 48.9-53.4) when based on BP measurement. The prevalence of current smokers was 8.1% (95% CI 7.0-9.2), while 2.0 (95% CI 1.5-2.5) were infrequent/frequent heavy drinkers, 67.9% (95% CI 65.2-70.5) consume insufficient fruits and vegetables, and 25.7% (95% CI 23.1-28.3) had a low level of physical activity. Almost 10% (95% CI 8.3-11.1) of adults were obese and 77.6% (95% CI 76.0-79.2) had a high-risk waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Risks from tobacco and alcohol consumption continued into older age, while insufficient fruit and vegetable intake, low physical activity and obesity increased with increasing age. The patterns of risk factors varied by income quintile, with higher prevalence of obesity and low physical activity in wealthier respondents, and higher prevalence of insufficient fruit and vegetable intake and smoking in lower-income respondents. The multivariate analysis showed that only urban/rural residence and body mass index (BMI) were common determinates of both self-reported and measured hypertension, while all other determinants have differing patterns.
The findings show a high burden of chronic diseases in the older Ghanaian population, as well as high rates of modifiable health risk factors. The government could consider targeting these health behaviors in conjunction with work to improve enrolment rates in the National Health Insurance Scheme.
在加纳，预计到 2050 年，老年人口将从 2015 年占总人口的 5.3%增加到 8.9%。国家和地方政府需要了解这一人群中的非传染性疾病（NCDs）信息，以便分配卫生系统资源并满足老年人的健康需求。
2007/08 年全球老龄化和成人健康研究（SAGE）加纳第一波使用了全国代表性的 50 岁以上人群的面对面访谈。每位受访者都被问及他们的整体健康状况、10 种慢性非传染性疾病的诊断情况以及常见的健康风险因素。所有受访者还进行了多项人体测量和健康测量，包括身高、体重、腰围和臀围以及血压（BP）。
本文包括 4724 名 50 岁以上的成年人。自我报告的慢性疾病患病率最高的是高血压[14.2%（95%置信区间 12.8-15.6）]和骨关节炎[13.8%（95%置信区间 11.7-15.9）]。基于血压测量，高血压的患病率达到 51.1%（95%置信区间 48.9-53.4）。当前吸烟者的比例为 8.1%（95%置信区间 7.0-9.2），而 2.0%（95%置信区间 1.5-2.5）是不常/经常大量饮酒者，67.9%（95%置信区间 65.2-70.5）的人摄入的水果和蔬菜不足，25.7%（95%置信区间 23.1-28.3）的人身体活动水平较低。近 10%（95%置信区间 8.3-11.1）的成年人肥胖，77.6%（95%置信区间 76.0-79.2）的人腰围臀围比（WHR）高风险。烟草和酒精消费的风险持续到老年，而水果和蔬菜摄入不足、身体活动水平低和肥胖则随着年龄的增长而增加。风险因素的模式因收入五分位数而异，富裕受访者的肥胖和身体活动水平较低，而低收入受访者的水果和蔬菜摄入不足和吸烟率较高。多变量分析表明，只有城乡居住和体重指数（BMI）是自我报告和测量的高血压的共同决定因素，而其他所有决定因素的模式都不同。
研究结果表明，加纳老年人口的慢性病负担沉重，同时存在大量可改变的健康风险因素。政府可以考虑针对这些健康行为，并努力提高全国健康保险计划的参保率。
