COVID-19 and Its Relationship with Social and Behavioral Factors in the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan

COVID-19 и взаимосвязь с социальными и поведенческими факторами у населения Республики Казахстан
Urazayeva S.T. Kumar G.B. Tussupkaliyeva K.Sh. Balmagambetova S.K. Urazayeva A.B. Nurmaganbetova G.Zh. Nurmukhamedova S.M. Amanshiyeva A.A. Tashimova Z.K.
2023 Federal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology

Public Health and Life Environment
2023 #31 Issue 4 22 - 29 pp.

Introduction: In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, information about risk factors of the infection is of utmost importance. The objective of our study was to analyze the prevalence of behavioral and social risk factors for COVID-19. Materials and methods: In October–November 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 1,123 residents of Kazakhstan aged 18 to 69 years. We used a standardized customized STEPS questionnaire that included socio-demographic data, behavioral data, and questions related to COVID-19. The significance of differences in data characterizing qualitative features was determined using 2×2 contingency tables based on the value of Pearson’s χ² correlation coefficient. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 44 years; 29 % of them were men and 71 % were women. Among those who had experienced COVID-19, there were more young and middle-aged people (p < 0.05), people with higher education (55.6 %) (p < 0.05), people having 1 to 3 family members (p < 0.05), and those not engaged in moderate physical activity. We found no statistical relationship between smoking and the novel coronavirus disease (p > 0.05). Those who recovered had higher titers of IgM and IgG antibodies. There was a considerable difference in disease incidence between the vaccinated and unvaccinated (p < 0.05) with an odds ratio of 1.661 (95 % CI: 1.275; 2.164). Conclusions: Our findings can serve as a guide for COVID-19 awareness campaigns aimed at the coronavirus disease prevention conducted by health authorities and mass media. They can also serve as the basis for in-depth studies of the contribution of various factors to the risk of the disease.

behavioral and social risk factors , COVID-19 , epidemiology , survey

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Department of Epidemiology, West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov State Medical University, 68 Maresyev Street, Aktobe, 030019, Kazakhstan
Department of Oncology, West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov State Medical University, 68 Maresyev Street, Aktobe, 030019, Kazakhstan

Department of Epidemiology
Department of Oncology

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