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Publications

Journal Article Journal Article Epublish 4 citations

PubMed: 39939733 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-89707-5

The burden of COVID-19 in primary care of Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2021-2022.

Sci Rep 15(1):5186

Authors: Nailya Kozhekenova, Sharapat Moiynbayeva, Danilo Jeremic, Milan Dinic, Pavel Semenov, Zhansaya Nurgaliyeva, Shyryn Tolekova, Anastassiya Miller, Arshat Smasheva, Milena Santric Milicevic

Affiliations

  • Faculty of Medicine and Healthcare, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 Al-Farabi Avenue, 050038, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • Alatau City Hospital, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • Kazakhstan Medical University "Higher School of Public Health", Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Orthopaedics "Banjica", University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
  • Laboratory for Strengthening Capacity and Performance of Health System and Workforce for Health Equity, Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. Vizim Hospital, Head of the Medical Department, Belgrade, Serbia.
  • Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Astana, Kazakhstan.
  • Faculty of Medicine and Healthcare, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 Al-Farabi Avenue, 050038, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • Telemedicine Center at the Municipal State Enterprise on the Right of Economic management "Central City Clinical Hospital" of the Department of Public Health of Almaty, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan.
  • Karaganda University Named After Academician E.A. Buketov, Karaganda, Kazakhstan.
  • Laboratory for Strengthening Capacity and Performance of Health System and Workforce for Health Equity, Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract

Primary healthcare played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic by preventing, timely diagnosing, and referring severe cases to hospitals, as well as monitoring and counseling patients via telemedicine. We used a cross-sectional approach to analyze the severity outcomes of 174,540 COVID-19 cases treated in primary care in Almaty between 2021 and 2022, by age, sex, disease severity, and comorbidities. Outpatients with COVID-19 were mainly aged 30-39 (20.3%) with a mild course (88.9%). Among adults, females predominated (≥ 60-25.5% vs. 19.2%, < 0.001), and among children (0-17), boys - 21.2% vs. 12.1% (p < 0.001). A higher risk for moderate to severe COVID-19 and adverse outcomes was assessed among older adults, particularly those aged 60 and older compared with younger groups (OR = 9.01, 95% CI: 7.72-10.51). Pregnant women had a low risk of severe disease (OR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.38-0.65). Patients with concomitant disease were at higher likelihood of severe COVID-19 (p < 0.001, OR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.9-3.15 for obesity, p < 0.001, OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.27-1.6 for diabetes mellitus, OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.07-1.26 for arterial hypertension, and p < 0.001, OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 2.13-3.02 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The study emphasizes an often-overlooked impact of COVID-19 on primary care, which is essential for improving outpatient care.

MeSH

Diabetes Mellitus, Aged, Covid-19, Natural Science Disciplines, Outpatients

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