PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF NCDs: Philippine Experience

Noncommunicable diseases include hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes mellitus. These illnesses are lifestyle diseases since smoking, nutrition, physical activity, alcohol intake, and stress contribute to their development. They even share common risk factors, the control of which greatly impact on their prevention and control. To achieve these necessitate determining these diseases and their risk factors.

The National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHeS): 2003-2004 was conducted through the collaborative effort of 14 medical specialty associations, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Clinical Epidemiology of the UP College of Medicine and Philippine General Hospital. The associations included the Philippine Lipid Society (PLS), Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH), Philippine Diabetes Association (PDA), Philippine Heart Association (PHA), Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS), Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN), Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (PSEM), Osteoporosis Society of the Philippines Foundation, Inc (OSPFI), Philippine Association for the Study of Overweight & Obesity (PASOO), Philippine Neurological Association (PNA), Philippine Rheumatology Association (PRA), Philippine Society of Gastroenterology (PSG), Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (PSAAI) and the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP). Collectively the groups formed the Multi-Sectoral Task Force on NNHeS: 2003-2004 or also known as the NNHeS: 2003-2004 Group. The survey’s main objectives were to assess the prevalence of lifestyle and nutrition-related risk factors and diseases among Filipinos and to aid in the development of health policies and programs for the prevention and control of the aforementioned diseases and their risk factors. The components of the survey are the 2003 6th National Nutrition Survey (NNS) and the 2003 Clinical Survey with broad extensive coverage. The NNHeS:2003-2004 is the first successful attempt to link the data sets of the country’s four major surveys: FIES (Family Income & Expenditure Survey), LFS (Labor Force Survey), NDHS (National Disease & Health Survey) and the NNS (National Nutrition Survey).

The study determined the national prevalence of over 24 noncommunicable diseases and over 10 risk factors. To be presented are the prevalence of smoking, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, stroke and peripheral arterial disease. Overview on control will also be discussed. These should reduce the morbidity and mortality due to noncommunicable diseases.

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