Risk factors related to Chronic non-communicable diseases in the population of women from Central Serbia

Introduction Chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) are a major public health issue in many countries worldwide. The most significant risk factors for CNCD development are smoking, hypertension, hypercholes-terolaemia, alcohol consumption, obesity, poor diet and lack of physical activity. Assessment of prevalence and distribution of risk factors relat-ed to chronic noncommunicable diseases in the population of women of Central Serbia and defining the needs for preventive activities are the main objectives of this study. Cross-sectional study was conducted using a sample of 1182 women in their reproductive period (15-49 years of age) from Central Serbia, in the period from April 2019 to November 2021. The study was conducted by teachers and students of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University in Kragujevac using the methodology and tools of the STEP-wise Approach to Noncommunicable Diseases Risk Factor Surveillance of the World Health Organisation (STEPS) with the support of the Ministry without portfolio charged with demographics and popula-tion policy of the Republic of Serbia. Commercial, standard SPSS soft-ware package version 18.0 (The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS Inc, version 18.0, Chicago, IL)) was used for statistical calculations. In our study, 62.5% of the women consumed tobacco prod-ucts each day,while 68.5% had consumed alcohol in the last 12 months. A quarter of the respondents (27.9%) consumed fruit every day of the week, and a little under a half (43.2%) consumed vegetables every day. In addition, 40.1% of the women claimed that they added salt to their food before even tasting it, and one fifth said that they engaged in at least 10 continual minutes of high-intensity physical exercise (fitness, recreation, sports) in their free time. In conclusion, risk factors for CNCD exist among the women in Central Serbia, so it is necessary to undertake appropriate preventative measures.