Risk factors of cognitive impairment in elderly people in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

OBJECTIVE: To study the risk factors of cognitive impairment in elderly people in the Republic of Kazakhstan. METHODS: Study design - cross - sectional. 385 elderly people randomly selected from all over Kazakhstan took part in the survey. The questionnaire for the elderly included socio-demographic data and a small test that determines the absence or the risk of developing cognitive impairment. RESULTS: Incomplete secondary education increases the risk of developing CI 4.92 times, secondary education 1.24, secondary special education 2.25 times compared to higher education. The absence of work at this time increases the risk of cognitive impairment compared to those who continue to work 2.24 times, being retired 0.42 times. Smoking increases the risk of developing CI compared to those who do not smoke 2.51 times, smoking history 0.86 times. Alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing CI compared to those who do not drink alcohol 1.62 times, other (on holidays) 0.31 times    . CONCLUSION: Prevention of dementia does not exist today, but it is possible to reduce the risk of its development. Risk factors increase the chances of getting sick but also serve as guidelines that can be influenced (Tab. 3, Ref. 17).

Assessment of Quality of Life in Patients with Colorectal Cancer in Kazakhstan.

BACKGROUND: The problem of quality of life (QOL) of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is particularly relevant due to the dynamics of CRC incidence growth. This study aims to assess QOL of patients with CRC in the Republic of Kazakhstan in order to give an idea about the impact of burden on QOL of patients. METHODS: A total of 319 patients diagnosed with CRC participated in this one-stage cross-sectional study. The survey was conducted between November 2021 and June 2022 at cancer centers in Kazakhstan.  Data were collected using the valid and reliable European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30, version 3.0). RESULTS: The average age of respondents was 59, 23 (SD=10,604) years. The main age group 50-69 years old accounted for 62.1% of the total sample. Among all ill respondents, 153 (48%) were male and 166 (52%) were female. The mean global health status was 59.24 ± 22.62. Two of the five functional scales were below the ≥66.7% threshold, namely, emotional functioning 61.65 (28.04) and social functioning 61.96 (31.84); while scores for the other three were: physical functioning 69.38 (22.06), role functioning 69.69 (26.45), and cognitive functioning 74.60 (25.07). CONCLUSIONS: This study gives an indication of good life functioning among our participants on the functional and symptom scales. However, they reported inadequate global health status.

Using of the World Health Organization quality of life instrument, short form to patient after PCI or CABG surgery.

OBJECTIVES: This investigation aimed to estimate reliability of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and quality of life of patients after PCI or CABG surgery. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 268 patients after PCI or CABG surgery were studied in East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions of Kazakhstan from September to December 2019. The Russian version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument, Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to measure their quality of life. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Pearson's correlation coefficient, paired t-test, independent t-test, and linear regression model were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 60.8 ± 9.2 years, while most of them were male (75.0 %). The overall observed Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the WHOQOL-BREF was 0.842, ranging from 0.668 to 0.764 in its four domains. The total mean score of the respondents on the WHOQOL-BREF was 13.97. The highest and lowest mean scores were observed in the environmental domain (15.22) and the physical health domain (13.00), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire has a good reliability in characterizing the quality of life of patients after PCI or CABG surgery. Patients after PCI or CABG surgery had a relatively moderate quality of life (Tab. 6, Ref. 23).

Epidemiological Characteristics of Male Reproductive Cancers in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Ten-Year Trends.

Background: Epidemiology of male reproductive cancers (MRC) is relatively well studied in developed world nations, but little is known about Central Asian states. We aimed to analyze the changing trends for incidence, mortality and 5-year survival MRC across provinces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study based on data obtained from the Kazakhstan Cancer Registry, which serves as a nationwide database for all histologically confirmed cancer cases. From this, information on all male patients with prostate (PCa) and testicular cancers (TCa) was retrieved for the period from 2010 to 2019. The statistical analysis of official data on incidence, survival, and mortality rates was performed for both the whole country and its provinces. Results: There was a substantial instability of PCa incidence rates, attributed to the execution of screening program from 2013 to 2017. Still, there was a lack of variations in TCa incidence rates. However, PCa screening program had no influence on reduction of mortality rates, which remained relatively stable. There is much heterogeneity between country's provinces in incidence and mortality rates. TCa patients were younger than PCa patients and had better 5-year survival. Conclusion: As compared with many other countries, Kazakhstani men with PCa and TCa have poorer five-year survival, which requires further investigation. Moreover, a careful analysis of diagnostic and treatment strategies utilized at different hospitals across the country would be highly desirable.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Barriers (KABs) of Regarding Colorectal Cancer Screening among the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

BACKGROUND: One of the obstacles to participating in CRC screening is the lack of knowledge about the importance of CRC, its risk factors and the benefits that can be obtained through screening. The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness and to identify the barriers to colorectal cancer screening among the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study based on questionnaire, which was conducted in different regions of Kazakhstan from 2020 to 2021. This study involved 486 respondents. The survey was conducted both personally and using a web questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed independently, taking into account international results and experience, and was validated. RESULTS: 486 participants were included in this study. Out of 486 who participated: 245 (50.04%) did not know whether CRC can occur without symptoms, 259 (53.3%) did not know that the disease is widespread, 232 (47.7%) believed that the disease is curable, 276 (56.8%) believed that CRC is a fatal disease. 357 (73.5%) participants responded that screening can provide timely and effective treatment of CRC. 57.4% of respondents did not agree that the CRC screening procedure is ineffective. However, they had obstacles to screening, such as: fear of getting CRC in the future 298 people (61.3%); and receiving unfavorable results during the examination of 291 people (59.9%). 317 people (65.2%) indicated that their ignorance of CRC was also an obstacle to screening. CONCLUSION: The results of the study indicate a lack of knowledge about the perception of CRC, participants' perception of risk factors, signs and symptoms of CRC and screening methods. And the main obstacles to screening are: fear of getting unfavorable results during screening; fear of getting sick in the future; and lack of knowledge about CRC.

Incidence, mortality and determinants of survival from cervical cancer in Northwest Russia: a registry-based cohort study.

Background: Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women. The evidence from Russia, however, is scarce. We studied the incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer in northwest Russia, and assessed determinants of survival among cervical cancer patients. Methods: This registry-based historical cohort study obtained data on all primary cases of cervical cancer in the Arkhangelsk region in 2000-2014 from the Arkhangelsk Regional Cancer Registry. One- and 5-y survival was calculated using life tables. Factors associated with survival were studied using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression. Results: The incidence increased from 10.9 per 100 000 in 2000 to 20.9 per 100 000 in 2014, while mortality increased from 2.0 to 7.8 per 100 000 during the same period. One- and 5-y survival was 77.4% (95% CI 75.4 to 79.4) and 60.0% (95% CI 54.6 to 61.5), respectively. Significant inverse association was observed between survival and stage of cancer. Patients with adenocarcinoma (HR=1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.2), other histological types of cancer (HR=1.8, 95% CI 1.4 to 2.4) and those with undefined histologic type (HR=3.8, 95% CI 2.5 to 5.8) had shorter survival than patients with squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusions: Incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer in northwest Russia is considerably higher than in developed countries. Increased incidence in recent years may be attributed to increased screening.