Summary of participant characteristics
| Variables | n (%) | Both sites | Karonga (rural) | Lilongwe (urban) | |||
| Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | ||
| Total | 431 | 375 | 303 | 154 | 128 | 221 | |
| Age | |||||||
| Under 50 | 346 (42.9) | 199 (46.2) | 147 (39.2) | 138 (45.5) | 51 (33.1) | 61 (47.7) | 96 (43.4) |
| 50–60 | 239 (29.7) | 113 (26.2) | 126 (33.6) | 80 (26.4) | 49 (31.8) | 33 (25.8) | 77 (34.8) |
| Over 60 | 221 (27.4) | 119 (27.6) | 102 (27.2) | 85 (28.1) | 54 (35.1) | 34 (26.6) | 48 (21.7) |
| Wealth quintiles | |||||||
| Poorest | 108 (13.4) | 41 (9.5) | 67 (17.9) | 34 (11.2) | 51 (33.1) | 7 (5.5) | 16 (7.2) |
| Second | 150 (18.6) | 83 (19.3) | 67 (17.9) | 80 (26.4) | 46 (29.9) | 3 (2.3) | 21 (9.5) |
| Third | 139 (17.3) | 85 (19.7) | 54 (14.4) | 77 (25.4) | 29 (18.8) | 8 (6.3) | 25 (11.3) |
| Fourth | 191 (23.7) | 103 (23.9) | 88 (23.5) | 66 (21.8) | 18 (11.7) | 37 (28.9) | 70 (31.7) |
| Wealthiest | 218 (27.1) | 119 (27.6) | 99 (26.4) | 46 (15.2) | 10 (6.5) | 73 (57) | 89 (40.3) |
| Marital status | |||||||
| Single | 209 (25.9) | 54 (12.5) | 155 (41.3) | 36 (11.9) | 82 (53.3) | 18 (14.1) | 73 (33.0) |
| Married | 597 (74.1) | 377 (87.5) | 220 (58.7) | 267 (88.1) | 72 (46.8) | 110 (85.9) | 148 (67.0) |
| Highest attained education | |||||||
| 0–5 years primary education | 164 (20.4) | 59 (13.7) | 105 (28) | 48 (15.8) | 66 (42.9) | 11 (8.6) | 39 (17.7) |
| Standard 6–8 | 329 (40.8) | 184 (42.7) | 145 (38.7) | 156 (51.5) | 65 (42.2) | 28 (21.9) | 80 (36.2) |
| Secondary | 230 (28.5) | 141 (32.7) | 89 (23.7) | 94 (31.0) | 21 (13.6) | 47 (36.7) | 68 (30.8) |
| Post-secondary | 83 (10.3) | 47 (10.9) | 36 (9.6) | 5 (1.7) | 2 (1.3) | 42 (32.8) | 34 (15.4) |
| Occupation | |||||||
| Homemaker | 237 (29.4) | 74 (17.2) | 163 (43.5) | 32 (10.6) | 34 (22.1) | 42 (32.8) | 129 (58.4) |
| Farming/fishing | 296 (36.7) | 209 (48.5) | 87 (23.2) | 208 (68.7) | 84 (54.6) | 1 (0.8) | 3 (1.36) |
| Employed | 273 (33.9) | 148 (34.3) | 125 (33.3) | 63 (20.8) | 36 (23.4) | 85 (66.4) | 89 (40.3) |
| Indoor fire | |||||||
| No | 42 (5.2) | 26 (6.0) | 16 (4.3) | 17 (5.6) | 6 (3.9) | 9 (7.0) | 10 (4.5) |
| Yes, inside the house | 39 (4.8) | 19 (4.4) | 20 (5.3) | 5 (1.7) | 3 (2.0) | 14 (10.9) | 17 (7.7) |
| Yes, but in a separate kitchen | 725 (90.0) | 386 (89.6) | 339 (90.4) | 281 (92.7) | 145 (94.2) | 105 (82) | 194 (87.8) |
| Smoking history | |||||||
| Non-smokers | 487 (60.4) | 130 (30.2) | 357 (95.2) | 72 (23.8) | 142 (92.2) | 58 (45.3) | 215 (97.3) |
| Smokers | 319 (39.6) | 301 (69.8) | 18 (4.8) | 231 (76.2) | 12 (7.8) | 70 (54.7) | 6 (2.7) |
| Diabetes | |||||||
| Non-diabetic | 502 (62.3) | 324 (75.2) | 324 (75.2) | 251 (82.8) | 88 (57.1) | 73 (57) | 90 (40.7) |
| Diabetic | 273 (33.9) | 87 (20.2) | 87 (20.2) | 42 (13.9) | 62 (40.3) | 45 (35.2) | 124 (56.1) |
| Missing data | 31 (3.9) | 20 (4.6) | 20 (4.6) | 10 (3.3) | 4 (2.6) | 10 (7.8) | 7 (3.2) |
| Dyslipidaemia | |||||||
| Yes | 344 (42.7) | 238 (55.2) | 175 (46.7) | 177 (58.4) | 73 (47.4) | 61 (47.7) | 102 (46.2) |
| No | 413 (51.2) | 165 (38.3) | 179 (47.7) | 114 (37.6) | 74 (48.1) | 51 (39.8) | 105 (47.5) |
| Missing data | 49 (6.1) | 28 (6.5) | 21 (5.6) | 12 (4.0) | 7 (4.6) | 16 (12.5) | 14 (6.3) |
| Hypertension | |||||||
| Hypertensive | 482 (59.8) | 220 (51.0) | 104 (27.7) | 171 (56.4) | 40 (26.0) | 49 (38.3) | 64 (29.0) |
| Not hypertensive | 324 (40.2) | 211 (49.0) | 271 (72.3) | 132 (43.6) | 114 (74.0) | 79 (61.7) | 157 (71.0) |
| Mean blood pressure (SD) | 139.1 (38.2) | 136 (41.6) | 142.6 (33.7) | 137 (47) | 149.1 (43.6) | 133.7 (24.1) | 138.1 (23.6) |
| HIV | |||||||
| Negative | 413 (51.2) | 237 (55.0) | 176 (46.9) | 170 (56.1) | 80 (52.0) | 67 (52.3) | 96 (43.4) |
| Positive | 247 (30.7) | 107 (24.8) | 140 (37.3) | 78 (25.7) | 57 (37.0) | 29 (22.7) | 83 (37.6) |
| Unknown | 146 (18.1) | 87 (20.2) | 59 (15.7) | 55 (18.2) | 17 (11.0) | 32 (25) | 42 (19) |
| Obesity | |||||||
| No | 634 (78.7) | 402 (93.3) | 232 (61.9) | 292 (96.4) | 113 (73.4) | 110 (85.9) | 119 (53.9) |
| Yes | 172 (21.3) | 29 (6.7) | 143 (38.1) | 11 (3.6) | 41 (26.6) | 18 (14.1) | 102 (46.2) |