Examining disparities in cardiovascular disease prevention strategies and incidence rates between urban and rural populations: insights from Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is experiencing a high burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the country has implemented a range of strategies aimed at controlling CVD. The study aims to conduct a content analysis of the policies implemented in the country and augment it with an analysis of official statistics over a 15-year period, from 2006 to 2020. The study also includes comparisons of incidence rates between urban and rural areas. A comprehensive search was conducted to identify policy documents that regulate the provision of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, official data on the incidence of arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease, acute myocardial infarction, and cerebrovascular disease were extracted from official statistics, disaggregated by urban and rural areas. Forecast modeling was utilized to project disease incidences up to 2030. The study reveals that Kazakhstan primarily focuses on tertiary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, with less attention given to secondary prevention, and primary prevention is virtually non-existent. In general, screening for arterial hypertension appears to be more successful than for ischemic heart disease. The incidence of arterial hypertension has increased threefold for urban residents and 1.7-fold for rural residents. In urban areas, residents saw a twofold increase in ischemic heart disease incidence, while it remained the same in rural areas. The findings of this study have practical implications for decision-makers, who can use the results to enhance the effectiveness of existing CVD prevention strategies.

Prevalence of Smoking Various Tobacco Types in the Kazakhstani Adult Population in 2021: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Tobacco use was the second-leading risk factor for death, accounting for 15.4% of total deaths in 2019. In 2019, 20.4% (2.7 million) of the adult population in Kazakhstan, 36.5% of men, and 6.0% of women smoked tobacco. A cross-sectional study of a random sample (n = 1201) was conducted between October and December 2021 in accordance with the STEPwise approach. The tobacco-use questions were focused on current and previous smoking status, initiation and duration of smoking, amount of tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, and information related to quitting smoking. From 20.8% of smokers, 93.8% of men and 80.2% of women use tobacco products daily, χ2 = 10.983, p-score < 0.001. The earliest initiation of smoking was 6 years old. The prevalence of smoking tobacco products in Kazakhstan is 20.8%, which means that every fifth adult smokes. In addition, the proportion of smokers among men was 38.5%, and among women, it was 10.1%. A total of 93.8% of men and 80.2% of women smoked daily. The role of healthcare professionals in smoking prevention is very low, and only 16.9% of respondents have been advised to quit smoking in the last 12 months. New interventions for tobacco smoking prevention are urgently needed in Kazakhstan.