The use of electronic cigarettes among youth in the Republic of Kazakhstan

National Centre for problems of healthy lifestyle development, Ministry of Health and Social Development, the Republic of KazakhstanBackground: Electronic cigarettes are a growing concern worldwide and a new marketing product of the tobacco industry; however, traditional tobacco control strategies often only address the issue of cigarette use. Electronic cigarette use is a relatively new phenomenon in Kazakhstan and there has been no prevalence data for youth available in Kazakhstan. To address this gap in knowledge questions about the use and awareness of electronic cigarettes were included in the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted in Kazakhstan in 2014. Methods: Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) is a nationally representative school-based survey of the youth aged 13-15 years. A total of 2,083 students in grades 7 to 9 completed the survey, of which 1,715 were at the target age. The survey enables to obtain of key tobacco control indicators and comparable data across countries. The GYTS questionnaire includes questions about awareness and the current use of electronic cigarettes. Responses were analyzed by gender. Results: 45.5% of youth have heard of electronic cigarettes. Awareness of electronic cigarettes among boys is 49.2% and among girls is 41.7%. The prevalence of current use of electronic cigarettes among school students is relatively low (1.6%). The current use of electronic cigarettes among boys is 2.0% and among girls is 1.1%. Conclusions: Current use of electronic cigarettes among the youth aged 13-15 years is low in Kazakhstan. However, monitoring the use of a relatively new tobacco product at the national level in Kazakhstan provides us with useful information for tobacco control policymaking and helps adjust the scope of public health strategies

Chemical Mutagenesis and Cytogenetic Chromosomal Abnormalities in a Population Living in the Aral Sea region

AIM: The article presents the results of a study of chromosomal mutations in residents living in the Aral Sea disaster zone, using the example of the city of Aralsk. METHODS: The article identifies the level of chromosomal aberrations (CA) in the surveyed population and identifies the leading type of aberrations in this region. RESULTS: Researches have shown that the main types of structural changes were chromatid breaks and single fragments of chromosomes. The results showed that in the study population, the microelement status indicates an imbalance of microelements. A correlation analysis showed a relationship between the nickel content in the blood and the increase in CAs. Furthermore, researches show a hypothesis about the pathogenesis mechanism of the formation of CAs. CONCLUSION: Thus, the article provides information on chromosomal mutations during chemical mutagenesis. &nbsp

The role of health schools in preventing the major non-contagious diseases at the primary medical care level in Kazakhstan

National Centre for Problems of Healthy Lifestyle Development, Congresul III al Medicilor de Familie din Republica Moldova, 17–18 mai, 2012, Chişinău, Republica Moldova, Conferinţa Naţională „Maladii bronhoobstructive la copii”, consacrată profesorului universitar, doctor habilitat Victor Gheţeul, 27 aprilie, Chişinău, Republica MoldovaThis article presents the results of the introduction of Health Schools at the level of Primary Health Care in Republic Kazakhstan. It is remarked that the participation of primary medical workers in Health Schools increases the efficiency of correction at patients with risk factors and increases the activity of prophylactic consultation of the supervised ones.В статье представлены результаты внедрения Школ здоровья на уровне первичной медико-санитарной помощи в Республике Казахстан. Указывается, что участие медицинских работников первичного звена здравоохранения в Школах Здоровья способствует повышению эффективности коррекции у пациентов факторов риска и повышает активность профилактического консультирования наблюдаемых контингентов

Development of primary medical care and of family medicine at present in Kazakhstan

National Centre for Problems of Healthy Lifestyle Development, Congresul III al Medicilor de Familie din Republica Moldova, 17–18 mai, 2012, Chişinău, Republica Moldova, Conferinţa Naţională „Maladii bronhoobstructive la copii”, consacrată profesorului universitar, doctor habilitat Victor Gheţeul, 27 aprilie, Chişinău, Republica MoldovaThe step-by-step introduction of the Unitary National Health System since 2010 has helped the health system in Kazakhstan to reach a new level of development, by the means of introducing rational forms and methods of providing Primary Medical Care on the basis of pre-medical practices. There is a comparative analysis of a poll conducted among general practitioners and district doctors regarding clear-demonstrative information for patients, presented. In this work, there is also the Model of organization of the Primary Medical Care in Kazakhstan presents, which includes: (1) department of prophylaxis and socio-psychological help, (2) social worker, (3) cabinet of prophylaxis, Healthy Lifestyle, (4) psychologist, (5) cabinet of the healthy child, (6) centres for strengthening health, (7) youth health centres.Поэтапное внедрение с 2010 Единой Национальной Системы Здравоохранения в Казахстане привело к подъёму на качественно новый уровень развития посредством внедрения рациональных форм и методов оказания Первичной Медико-Санитарной Помощи на базе доврачебной практики. В работе представлен сравнительный анализ зондажа проведённого среди Врачей Общей Практики и участковых врачей в области наглядно-демонстративной информации для пациентов. Также, в работе представлена Модель организации первичной медикосанитарной помощи в Казахстане, которая включает: (1) отделение профилактики и социально-психологической помощи; (2) социальный работник; (3) кабинет профилактики и здорового образа жизни; (4) психолог; (5) кабинет здорового ребёнка; (6) центры укрепления здоровья; (7) молодёжные центры здоровья

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017—and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions—was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing—and in some countries reversal—of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions