ISSN No. 2079-8547 (Recognized by PMDC)
PREVALENCE OF NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND THE ROLE OF PHYSIOTHERAPY AS ITS TREATMENT, RELATED TO GENDER AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Objective: To access the prevalence of non communicable diseases and the role of physiotherapy as its treatment,
related to gender and socioeconomic status.
Material and Methods: This is cross sectional study, conducted in Habib Physiotherapy complex Hayatabad Peshawar
from November 2013 to April 2014. In this study one hundred and fifty three patients aged 19 to 80 years were
enrolled. The mean age among the study participants was 50 years. On gender basis, participants were subdivided
into two groups. The percentages of different non communicable diseases were calculated. Socio economic status
of these patients was also recorded.
Results: Among the study participants, peak patients seeking physiotherapy were hypertensive, males being (32.60%)
compared to females (29.51%). The socio economic status of majority patients was observed to be poor (45.8%) with
regard to medium (30.7%) and upper class (23.5%) This study demonstrates that the burden of the major categories
of ill-health and disability is greater among lower socio-economic groups.
Conclusion: Physiotherapy has important role in cure of non communicable diseases. Non-communicable diseases
are increasingly being reported by lower socio-economic groups. It will be critical for government policies to tackle the
underlying social determinants of ill health, including explicit attempts to address the conditions that predispose those
who currently bear the greatest burden of ill-health to the risks of disease and disability.