Work at high altitude and non-fatal cardiovascular disease associated with unfitness to work: Prospective cohort observation.

Introduction: Mining at high altitude exposes workers to hypoxic environment and cold climate in addition to conventional hazards in mining, but very little is known on how to define fitness to work in prospective candidates with pre-existing conditions. The aim of the current study was to define the incidence of cardiovascular diseases leading to unfitness to work as well as their predictors in a prospective observation.

Methods: A total of 569 prospective employees (median age 34 (interquartile range (IQR) 28;40) years, 95% men 85% mid-altitude residents) for a high-altitude gold mine in Kyrgyzstan operating at 3800-4500 meters above sea level were screened at pre-employment in 2009-2012 and followed by January 2022.

Maternal treatment with a selective delta-opioid receptor agonist during gestation has a sex-specific pro-cognitive action in offspring: mechanisms involved.

There is growing evidence that the treatment of several mental disorders can potentially benefit from activation of delta-opioid receptors. In the future, delta-agonists with a safe pharmacological profile can be used for the treatment of mood disorders in pregnant women. However, the data on prenatal exposure to delta-opioid agonists are missing.

Bridging the mood and stress hormone levels between mothers and their babies: The study design and first preliminary results.

The neurobiological mechanisms involved in the influence of post-partum maternal mood fluctuations on child development are far from being understood. Here we present the design of an ongoing study aimed to test the hypothesis that the mental state of the mother has an impact on her neonate which is manifested by similarities in the neuroendocrine function of the mother and the child. The hypothesis is being tested under both stress and non-stress conditions in mothers and babies aged 3-4 days and 7-9 months.

Neuroendocrine response to a psychosocial stress test is not related to schizotypy but cortisol elevation predicts inflexibility of semantic memory retrieval.

An altered stress response can contribute to the transition from preclinical psychotic symptoms to the clinical manifestation of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. The present study was aimed at testing the hypotheses that (i) the autonomic and neuroendocrine responses under psychosocial stress are dysregulated in individuals with high psychosis proneness (schizotypy); (ii) the magnitude of post-stress autonomic activation and cortisol release predicts alterations in semantic memory retrieval. The study was performed in 73 healthy individuals of both sexes with either high or low schizotypal traits preselected out of 609 individuals using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire.

High levels of indoor fine particulate matter during the cold season in Almaty prompt urgent public health action.

Introduction: Almaty is the largest city of Kazakhstan with extreme air pollution, mostly in the cold season, but little is known whether staying indoors could lessen the exposure. The aim was to quantitatively characterize indoor fine PM levels and to verify the contribution of ambient pollution to it in a polluted city like Almaty.

Methods: We collected forty-six 24-hour 15-min average samples of the ambient air and a similar number of paired indoor samples (total 92 samples).

Effects of chronic delta-opioid receptor agonist on the excitability of hippocampal glutamate and brainstem monoamine neurons, anxiety, locomotion, and habituation in rats.

Background: Short-term treatment with non-peptide agonists of delta-opioid receptors, such as agonist SNC80, induced behavioral effects in rodents, which could be modulated via changes in central neurotransmission. The present experiments aimed at testing the hypothesis that chronic treatment with SNC80 induces anxiolytic effects associated with changes in hippocampal glutamate and brainstem monoamine pathways.

Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were used in experiments.

Exposure to Respirable Particulate Matter and Its Association with Respiratory Outcomes in Beauty Salon Personnel.

We aimed to assess exposure to respirable particulate matter (PM) of beauty salon personnel, identify its determinants and ascertain the associated respiratory effects. We collected 122 full-day respirable PM samples from 12 beauty salons (floor area ranging from 24 to 550 m, staff from 4 to 8) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, taking 10 samples from each place using a portable SidePak AM520 monitor. We also assessed lifestyle (smoking, etc.

Testosterone but not cortisol concentrations in hair correlate between mothers and their prepubertal children under real-life stress conditions.

The aim of the present study is to test the hypothesis that there is an association between the neuroendocrine state, reflected by testosterone and cortisol concentrations in hair, of the mother and her child under difficult real-life stress conditions (COVID-19 pandemic). The research sample consisted of 45 healthy mothers and their prepubertal children (7 - 11 years) of both sexes. The hair samples of mother-child dyads were collected twice to obtain cumulative stress hormone concentrations from April till the end of June and July till the end of September 2020.

Occupational burn-out, fatigue and stress in professional rescuers: a cross-sectional study in Kazakhstan.

Objectives: To find predictors of burn-out in a cohort of rescuers.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Republican Rescue Squad (N=105) and Republican Mudslide Rescue Service under the Ministry of Emergency Situations (N=480) in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Salivary testosterone, testosterone/cortisol ratio and non-verbal behavior in stress.

The relationship between hormone release and non-verbal communication under stress conditions is still not sufficiently explored. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that salivary testosterone concentrations and testosterone/cortisol (T/C) ratios correlate positively with assertive behavior representing a non-aggressive form of dominance during an acute stress situation. As a stress model, a socially evaluated cold pressor test was investigated in healthy men.

Psychotropic Drug Effects on Steroid Stress Hormone Release and Possible Mechanisms Involved.

There is no doubt that chronic stress accompanied by adrenocortical stress hormone release affects the development and treatment outcome of several mental disorders. Less attention has been paid to the effects of psychotropic drugs on adrenocortical steroids, particularly in clinical studies. This review focuses on the knowledge related to the possible modulation of cortisol and aldosterone secretion under non-stress and stress conditions by antipsychotic drugs, which are being used in the treatment of several psychotic and affective disorders.

Health-related quality of life in a general population sample in Kazakhstan and its sociodemographic and occupational determinants.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) in the general population of Kazakhstan has never been characterized. We constructed this population-based study of the largest city in Kazakhstan, Almaty with the aim to quantitatively assess HRQL and ascertain whether occupation and lifestyle are associated with HRQL in this population.

Methods: In a random sample (N = 1500) of general population in Almaty (median age 49 (interquartile range 28) years, 50% women), we collected data on demographics, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, lifetime occupational history and general HRQL using SF-8 instrument.

Testosterone and occupational burnout in professional male firefighters.

Background: Very little is known about the biologic predictors of the occupational burnout in firefighters. The aim of this study was to characterize testosterone profile of active firefighters and quantify its association with three domains of the occupational burnout.

Methods: We enrolled 100 firefighters (median age 28 (interquartile range (IQR) 9.

Air pollution in the workplace: making shish kebab is an overlooked occupational hazard.

Background: Meat grilled with wood charcoal is the most popular meal in Central Asia, but little is known about the grillers' occupational exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) in fumes.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide a quantitative analysis of occupational exposure to fine PM in grillers in the workplace.

Methods: We assessed exposure to PM from barbecue fumes using SidePak AM520 in six popular cafes in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Smoking practices in relation to exhaled carbon monoxide in an occupational cohort.

Background: Exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) remains a leading occupational hazard in firefighters, but cigarette and waterpipe smoking likely contributes to the other sources of CO in such workers. The aim of this study was to estimate the contribution of self-reported active cigarette smoking, waterpipe use, and potential job-related sources of CO to the level of exhaled CO in firefighters.

Methods: We surveyed the personnel of 18 fire stations (N = 842), median age 28 years, who participated at an annual screening not timed to coincide with recent firefighting.

Lifetime Occupational History, Respiratory Symptoms and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results from a Population-Based Study.

Purpose: To ascertain the effect of lifelong occupational history, ambient air pollution, and biochemically verified smoking status on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a general population of one the largest cities in Central Asia, Almaty.

Patients And Methods: 1500 adults (median age 49, interquartile range (IQR) 28 years), 50% females, were randomly selected from a registry of enlisted population of a primary care facility in Almaty, Kazakhstan and they filled in the questionnaire on demographics, respiratory symptoms (CAT and mMRC), smoking status, verified by exhaled carbon monoxide, and detailed lifetime occupational history. COPD was defined as postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) below lower limit of normal (LLN) using Belintelmed MAS-2 spirometer (Belarus).

Occupational burnout and lifestyle in Kazakhstan cardiologists.

Background: No data exist in the published literature on burnout in physicians from Central Asia. The aim of this analysis was to assess burnout prevalence in doctors and nurses of a cardiological hospital in Almaty, Kazakhstan and ascertain whether smoking, alcohol and physical activity may predict job-associated burnout.

Methods: The staff of the City Cardiological Centre of Almaty ( = 259, 82% females) filled in the questionnaire with the questions on demographics, lifestyle, including smoking, alcohol and physical activity, as well as fatigue (using Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)) and burnout using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel.

Age and work duration do not predict burnout in firefighters.

Background: The aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of burnout in Kazakhstan firefighters with regard to position and to identify predictors of faster burnout in order to plan future preventive strategies.

Methods: Data on demographics, lifestyle, fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)), SF-8 health-related quality of life (HRQL) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) emotional exhaustion (EX), cynicism (CY) and professional efficacy (PE) were obtained from 604 (94% men, median age 27 (interquartile range (IQR) 12) years) firefighters from all 18 fire departments of the city of Almaty. Associations between predictors and burnout EX, CY and PE dimensions were tested using multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Prevalence of supplement use in recreationally active Kazakhstan university students.

Background: Little is known about the supplements use and recreational sport practices in Kazakhstan university students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to ascertain supplements use prevalence and their predictors in this population.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of both undergraduate and graduate level students was completed in 2017 et al.

[Epidemiological aspects of laryngeal papillomatosis in the adult patients].

Laryngeal papillomatosis in adults is a non-malignant neoplasm and one of the principal causes underlying the development of airway obstruction. The objective of the present study was to estimate the state of the problem of laryngeal papillomatosis in the adult patients, analyse the structure of papillomatosis morbidity, summarize the available information on the clinical features of this pathology and outcomes of its hospital-based treatment. The authors undertook a retrospective analysis of medical histories of 282 patients hospitalized at the Republican Research and Practical Centre of Otorhinolaryngology with the diagnosis of laryngeal papillomatosis during the period from 2000 till 2011.

[Indications for hypoxitherapy].

Hypoxytherapy is the non-medicinal therapeutic method using gaseous hypoxic mixture (GHM) with decreased oxygen contents. The method is based on the activation of body protective mechanisms, phagocytosis stimulation, microcirculation improvement, sedative effect. GHM therapy is indicated in neurosis, CHD, hypertension, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, to prevent from side effect of ionizing radiation, to increase the resistance during complex therapy of oncologic patients.

Triplet excitation transfer through the walls of hemicarcerands: dependence of the electronic coupling on the size of the molecular cage.

Triplet excitation transfer from biacetyl trapped inside three hemicarcerands of different size (1, 2, and 3) to acceptors in the surrounding medium was investigated. The largest hemiracerand 1 employs four butyl linkers and the intermediate hemicarcerand 2 four o-xylyl linkers. The smallest hemicarcerand 3 contains only three methylene linkers.

[Use of antioxidants and trimetazidine in preparation of patients with ischemic heart disease for coronary angiography].

Lipid peroxidation, cell stability, lipid spectrum, conjunctival microcirculation, levels of ceruloplasmin and myoglobin were studied in 107 males with ischemic heart disease before and after coronaroangiography by M. Judkins (CAG). It was found that CAG provokes oxidative stress, promotes membranodestructive processes, dyslipidemia and circulation disorders in the bulbar conjunctive.