Epidemiological Features of Diabetes in Kazakhstan in 2018-2021 (Population Study)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with diabetes are among the most vulnerable. Our purpose is to research the dynamics of morbidity, mortality, and survival of patients with diabetes in Kazakhstan before and during the current pandemic.

The indicators were calculated taking into account gender and nosological forms (E10-E14, according to ICD-10).The survival analysis was performed by the method of constructing survival tables and the Kaplan-Meier method. Based on methods, the official reporting data of 1,903,243 cases of diabetes and 20,605 deaths from diabetes were analyzed for the period 2018-2021.

In Kazakhstan, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the absolute frequency of all cases of diseases by 1.8 times (716,048 in 2021 against 396,990 in 2018) and newly detected by 2.0 times (from 38,396 to 75,027), also prevalence by 1.7 times (3743.9 in 2021 against 2142.2 in 2018) and incidence E10-E14 by 1.9 times (392.3 in 2021 against 207.2 in 2018). Mortality from E10-E14 in Kazakhstan increased during the pandemic by more than 1.5 times (34.1 per 100,000 in 2021 against 22.3 per 100,000 in 2018), and the average survival time at E10-E14 shifted (from 69.8 to 70.5 years) (P = 0.001).

To a greater extent, the increase in diseases and terminal outcomes occurred due to non-insulin-dependent type (E11) diabetes, mainly in the female population.