Noncommunicable disease burden among conflict-affected adults in Ukraine: A cross-sectional study of prevalence, risk factors, and effect of conflict on severity of disease and access to care

Abstract

Background There is limited research on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in humanitarian settings despite the overall global burden and disproportionate growth in many conflicts and disaster-prone settings. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of NCDs and assess the perceived effect of conflict on NCD severity and access to treatment among conflict-affected adults (> 30 years) in Ukraine. Methods and findings We conducted two population-representative, stratified, cross-sectional household surveys: one among adult internally displaced people (IDPs) throughout Ukraine and one among adults living in Donbas in eastern Ukraine. One randomly selected adult per household answered questions about their demographics, height and weight, diagnosed NCDs, access to medications and healthcare since the conflict began, as well as questions assessing psychological distress, trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder. More than half of participants reported having at least one NCD (55.7% Donbas; 59.8% IDPs) A higher proportion of IDPs compared to adults in Donbas experienced serious psychological distress (29.9% vs. 18.7%), interruptions in care (9.7–14.3% vs. 23.1–51.3%), and interruptions in medication than adults in Donbas (14.9–45.6% vs. 30.2–77.5%). Factors associated with perceived worsening of disease included psychological distress (p: 0.002–0.043), displacement status (IDP vs. Donbas) (p: <0.001–0.011), interruptions in medication (p: 0.002–0.004), and inability to see a doctor at some point since the start of the conflict (p: <0.001–0.008). Conclusions Our study found a high burden of NCDs among two conflict-affected populations in Ukraine and identified obstacles to accessing care and medication. Psychological distress, interruptions to care, and interruptions in medication were all reported by a higher proportion of IDPs than adults in Donbas. There is a need for targeted policies and programs to support the unique needs of displaced conflict-affected individuals in Ukraine that address the economic and perceived barriers to NCD treatment and care.