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.

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).

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.

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.

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.