ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1514807
Risk Factors Associated with Non-Communicable Diseases Among Government Employees in Nepal: Insights from a Cross-Sectional Study
Provisionally accepted
Durga Datta Chapagain
KENNEDY MENSAH OSEI
Danik Iga Prasiska
Vasuki Rajaguru
Sunjoo Kang
Tae Hyun Kim
Sang Gyu Lee
Whiejong Han*- Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Introduction: Sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy work environments and occupational stress increase the risk of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) among government employees, impacting healthcare costs and productivity. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hypertension, prediabetes, and diabetes, and identify risk factors among government employees in Nepal.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 994 government employees. Data on sociodemographic, anthropometric/biochemical measurements, behavioral and clinical factors were collected. Descriptive analysis analyzed the prevalence of NCDs among covariates. Multivariate logistic regression and ROC curves assessed the association between NCDs and covariates/risk factors. Significance was set at p<0.05 and 95% CI.Results: Participants’ mean age was 33.1±9.1 years, with 82.1% (n-796) male, mostly from aged 30-39 (n=397, 41%), and Brahmin/Chhetri (n=454, 46.9%). Elders had a 6-times higher risk of hypertension (OR: 6.08, CI: 3.1-11.92), above 7-times higher risk of prediabetes (OR:7.83, CI: 3.32- 18.47), and above 16 times higher risk of diabetes (OR:16.62, CI: 2.5- 106.49) compared to aged 18-29. Smoking increased diabetes risk (OR:6.82, CI:1.95- 23.8), while alcohol consumption increased risk of hypertension (OR:1.51, CI:1.02- 1.63) and prediabetes (OR:1.88, CI:1.08- 3.28). Overweight increased hypertension risk (OR:2.79, CI:1.90–4.09), while obesity increased both hypertension (OR:3.04, CI:1.73-–5.34) and prediabetes-risk (OR:2.43, CI:1.18–4.99). Conclusion: This study recommends that concerned authorities should implement workplace policies for health promotion, intensify awareness campaigns, establish routine screening for government employees, and focus on reducing risk factors and encouraging healthier lifestyles to enhance NCD prevention.
Keywords: Hypertension, prediabetes, diabetes, Non-communicable diseases, Associated factors, government employees, Nepal
Received: 21 Oct 2024; Accepted: 24 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chapagain, OSEI, Prasiska, Rajaguru, Kang, Kim, Lee and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Whiejong Han, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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