Table 1.
Characteristics of the respondents
| Total n=1678 | Dhaka n=825 | Matlab n=853 | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 43.5±15.1 | 40.7±14.8 | 46.1±15.0 | 0.000 |
| Male | 736 (43.9) | 352 (42.7) | 384 (45.0) | 0.332 |
| Education in years | 5.1±4.7 | 6.2±5.1 | 4.0±4.0 | 0.000 |
| Educational category | 0.000 | |||
| Illiterate | 582 (34.7) | 245 (29.7) | 337 (39.5) | |
| Primary (1–5 years) | 377 (22.5) | 145 (17.6) | 232 (27.2) | |
| Secondary (6–10 years) | 521 (31.0) | 282 (34.2) | 239 (28.0) | |
| Higher education (>11 years) | 198 (11.8) | 153 (18.5) | 45 (5.3) | |
| Occupation | 0.000 | |||
| Manual | 368 (21.9) | 124 (15.0) | 244 (28.6) | |
| Non-manual* | 1310 (78.1) | 701 (85.0) | 609 (71.4) | |
| Income ‘000 Taka† | 15.5±13.5 | 19.5±15.5 | 11.6±9.9 | 0.000 |
| Income group | 0.000 | |||
| Low (≤10 000 Taka) | 846 (50.4) | 256 (31.0) | 590 (69.2) | |
| Middle (10 001–30 000 Taka) | 710 (42.3) | 478 (57.9) | 232 (27.2) | |
| High (≥30 001 Taka) | 122 (7.3) | 91 (11.0) | 31 (3.6) | |
| BMI in kg/m2 | 22.6 ±7.0 | 24.2±5.1 | 21.0±8.1 | 0.000 |
| BMI category | 0.000 | |||
| Underweight (<18.5 kg/m2) | 341 (20.3) | 92 (11.2) | 249 (29.2) | |
| Overweight/obese (≥25 kg/m2) | 424 (25.3) | 328 (39.8) | 96 (11.3) | |
| Waist circumference in cm | 77.4±11.7 | 81.0±12.2 | 73.9±10.1 | 0.000 |
| Abdominal obesity‡ | 466 (27.8) | 317 (38.4) | 149 (17.5) | 0.000 |
| Extra salt intake (at least once a day)§ | 1345 (80.4) | 564 (68.5) | 781 (91.9) | 0.000 |
| Tobacco use | ||||
| Smokers | 500 (29.8) | 234 (28.4) | 266 (31.2) | 0.207 |
| Chewing tobacco | 536 (31.9) | 203 (24.6) | 333 (39.0) | 0.000 |
| Systolic BP | 113.1±18.7 | 117.3±18.9 | 109.1±17.6 | 0.000 |
| Diastolic BP | 71.6±15.7 | 72.5±19.4 | 70.7±10.8 | 0.021 |
| Blood pressure category | 0.000 | |||
| Normal | 1053 (62.8) | 423 (51.3) | 630 (73.9) | |
| Prehypertension | 338 (20.1) | 207 (25.1) | 131 (15.4) | |
| Hypertension | 287 (17.1) | 195 (23.6) | 92 (10.8) | |
Mean±SD.
Numbers in parenthesis are percentages.
*Non-manual category included sedentary workers, professionals (eg, doctors, teachers, etc), housewives, retired persons, those unable to work and unemployed.
†Bangladesh currency Taka 80.00=US$1.00.
‡Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference ≥90 cm for males and ≥80 cm for females.
§Extra salt intake was referred to table salt consumption at least once a day other than salt used in cooking or food preparation.
BP, blood pressure; BMI, body mass index.