Background: Undergoing a routine medical examination may be associated with the prevalence rate of chronic diseases from a population-based household interview survey. However, this important issue has not been examined so far.
Methods: Data came from the first health service household interview of Hunan province, China, in 2013. A Rao-Scott chi-square test was performed to examine the difference in prevalence rates between subgroups. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) was calculated using the PROC SURVEYLOGISTIC procedure of SAS9.1 statistical software.
Results: In total, 24,282 residents of 8400 households were surveyed. A higher proportion of elderly adults had undergone a medical examination within the prior 12 months compared with young adults (≥65 years, 60%; 45-64 years, 46%; 18-44 years, 37%). After controlling for location, sex, and household income per capita, undergoing a medical examination was significantly associated with high prevalence rates of hypertension (adjusted OR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.5) and of diabetes mellitus (adjusted OR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.7-6.5) for young adults aged 18-44 years. The associations were not statistically significant for age groups 45-64 years and 65 years or older.
Conclusion: The prevalence rates of hypertension and diabetes mellitus may be seriously underestimated for young adults not undergoing a routine medical examination in a health household interview survey.
Keywords: China; diabetes mellitus; household interview survey; hypertension; prevalence.