Cardiovascular disease risk factors among rural Kazakh population

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have remained a leading cause of mortality in Kazakhstan. The objectives of the present study were to estimate the prevalence of CVD risk factors (RFs) among the Kazakh population, and their ability to identify those CVD RFs. We interviewed 611 subjects aged 25-65 years using a structured self-administered questionnaire from April to July, 2008. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to determine associations between CVD RFs and its correlations, such as socioeconomic status and level of knowledge of CVD RFs through a logistic regression model. Mean age of the respondents was 43.2 years, and 49.8% were male. Tobacco smoking, overweight (body mass index > or = 25.0), hypertension (systolic blood pressure > or =140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure > or =90 mm Hg), and alcohol drinking were identified as important CVD RFs. Risk of overweight was greatest among the population aged 45-54 years, with an OR of 5.3 (95% CI = 3.1-9.2). The overweight population was significantly associated with higher income (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.4) and knowledge of RF (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2-2.4), with p < 0.05. Only 25.0% of respondents had good knowledge about CVD RFs. Alcohol drinking was inversely related to the level of knowledge about CVD RFs (OR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.5-0.9). We concluded that CVD RFs were very high among the Kazakh population, although their level of knowledge to identify those RFs was very low. Increasing knowledge about CVD RFs through awareness campaign activities can reduce CVD-related morbidity and mortality and ensure a better quality of life for the Kazakh population.