COVID-19 and Its Relationship with Social and Behavioral Factors in the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Introduction: In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, information about risk factors of the infection is of utmost importance. The objective of our study was to analyze the prevalence of behavioral and social risk factors for COVID-19. Materials and methods: In October–November 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 1,123 residents of Kazakhstan aged 18 to 69 years. We used a standardized customized STEPS questionnaire that included socio-demographic data, behavioral data, and questions related to COVID-19. The significance of differences in data characterizing qualitative features was determined using 2×2 contingency tables based on the value of Pearson’s χ2 correlation coefficient. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 44 years; 29 % of them were men and 71 % were women. Among those who had experienced COVID-19, there were more young and middle-aged people (p < 0.05), people with higher education (55.6 %) (p < 0.05), people having 1 to 3 family members (p < 0.05), and those not engaged in moderate physical activity. We found no statistical relationship between smoking and the novel coronavirus disease (p > 0.05). Those who recovered had higher titers of IgM and IgG antibodies. There was a considerable difference in disease incidence between the vaccinated and unvaccinated (p < 0.05) with an odds ratio of 1.661 (95 % CI: 1.275; 2.164). Conclusions: Our findings can serve as a guide for COVID-19 awareness campaigns aimed at the coronavirus disease prevention conducted by health authorities and mass media. They can also serve as the basis for in-depth studies of the contribution of various factors to the risk of the disease.