Recent Trends in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Kazakhstan

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality in Kazakhstan. In the last decade, Kazakhstan has carried out a number of reforms in the healthcare sector, in particular, to reduce mortality from significant diseases, including CVD. This study aimed to provide the trend of avoidable mortality from CVD in Kazakhstan.

We extracted data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan on population by age; mortality rates from chronic rheumatic heart disease (I05-I09); hypertensive diseases (I10-I15); ischaemic heart disease (I20-I25); cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69) from 2011 to 2021, by gender and 5-year age group (0, 1-4, 5-9, 74). We applied join point regression to calculate the average annual percentage change (AAPC). In addition, crude mortality and trends were calculated per 100,000 population.

The avoidable mortality rates, including treatable and preventable mortality decreased between 2011 and 2019 and then increased in the last two years (2020 and 2021) in all four studied disease groups. The AAPC showed that total avoidable mortality rates decreased between 2011 and 2021-6.0 points (-10.6 to - 1.1) (p = 0.017), whereas in males -4.2 (-8.3 to 0.1) and females - 5.1 (-8.8 to -1.3) (p = 0.009). Avoidable mortality rates from ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular and hypertensive disease has been reduced stronger in male compared to female. The crude mortality declined over the period given; however, among young people mortality is still high.

Our findings showed that avoidable mortality from CVD decreased over the last years, which could be related to the policy on strengthening the primary care on early diagnosis and detection of CVD and its risk factors. However, primary healthcare facilities need to improve activities on health literacy (drug adherence, risk factors) of the population, including the prevention of CVD.