Benefits and constraints in screening for non-communicable diseases in the rural area of Thailand's northeast.

Objective: To investigate the benefits and constraints of a screening attempt as initiated by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) measuring over-nutrition, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) undertaken by the local health officials on sub-district level.

Material And Method: Capillary blood glucose (CBG), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) of first degree relatives was assessed following the direction of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) by the local health officials.

Results: The proportions of obesity, hypertension, and T2DM from 7,698 villagers were about 35%, 20%, and suspected to be 9%, respectively. This was similar to previous investigations except for the history of T2DM of first-degree relatives, which strongly relates to elevated CBG levels. A high percentage of missing value was recognized for all variables.

Conclusion: The screening of non-communicable disease program executed by the lower level of the health delivery system is an achievement by itself It can detect new cases of diseases. However incompleteness of variables is a constraint observed due to high workload of the health staff To decrease the burden of the public health staff and the curative sector and increase accuracy, the proportion of the population eligible for screening should be restricted to a higher age, being obese, and having a first-degree relative with diabetes mellitus.