The large differences in all diabetes indices between urban and rural regions, if confirmed in larger studies, may suggest an impact of westernised and urbanised lifestyle as well as access to health care.

The levels of awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were higher than in most Eastern European and Central Asian populations with available data, most likely reflecting high education and large proportion of civil servants in the new capital city. However, even in this privileged population the rates of successful control of hypertension were modest.

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of mortality and morbidity in most populations. As the traditional modifiable risk factors (smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and obesity) were defined decades ago, we decided to analyze recent data in patients who survived acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The Czech part of the study included data from 999 males, and compared them with the post-MONICA study (1,259 males, representing general population). The Lithuanian study included 479 male patients and 456 age-matched controls. The Kazakhstan part included 232 patients and 413 controls. In two countries, the most robust ACS risk factor was smoking (OR 3.85 in the Czech study and 5.76 in the Lithuanian study), followed by diabetes (OR 2.26 and 2.07) and hypertension (moderate risk elevation with OR 1.43 and 1.49). These factors did not influence the ACS risk in Kazakhstan. BMI had no significant effect on ACS and plasma cholesterol was surprisingly significantly lower (P<0.001) in patients than in controls in all countries (4.80±1.11 vs. 5.76±1.06 mmol/l in Czechs; 5.32±1.32 vs. 5.71±1.08 mmol/l in Lithuanians; 4.88±1.05 vs. 5.38±1.13 mmol/l in Kazakhs/Russians). Results from our study indicate substantial heterogeneity regarding major CVD risk factors in different populations with the exception of plasma total cholesterol which was inversely associated with ACS risk in all involved groups. These data reflect ethnical and geographical differences as well as changing pattern of cardiovascular risk profiles.

IntroductionStatins appear to be handled by an ATP-dependent membrane transporter and three SNPs (C1236T (rs1128503), G2677T (rs2032582), and C3435T (rs1045642), which capture the common genetic variation at this locus. Individuals, who carry the T allele at each SNP (i.e., the T-T-T haplotype), have higher systemic exposure to simvastatin.A triallelic thymine (T) - guanine (G) - adenine (A), which is a point mutation at nucleotide 2677 in exon 22, leads to ABCB1 in a non-synonymous codons (GCT alanine, TCT serine, threonine ACT) at position 893 in a cytoplasmic loop of ATP-dependent membrane transporters.MethodsBlood samples from healthy individuals were collected in the Republican Diagnostic Center, Astana, Kazakhstan. The research samples included 461 healthy people. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood using the ‘salting out’ procedure. For the MDR1 exon 21, 2677G>T/A (Ala893Ser/Thr) polymorphism was genotyped by PCR sequencing by the use of dye-terminator (ABI 3730xl sequencer).ResultsThe GG allele appeared in 23% of samples, the GA in 6.7%, the GT in 44%, the non-G heterozygote in 4.5%, and the non-G homozygote in 18%. These results are consistent with previously published data. Importantly, the frequency of 2677T alleles in our group was 15.4%. This represents the lowest frequency of this allele compared to published data in different populations. The frequency of the 2677T allele in Asians and Caucasians varies from 38 to 62%, and is 15% for African Americans. On the other hand, the 2677A allele frequency in the Japanese varies from 15 to 22%, and in Caucasians from 2% and 4%. The 2677A allele frequency has been found in 4.6% of samples.ConclusionsOur study further emphasizes differences between various Asian populations and the importance of repeating this genetic study in different ethnic groups.

Main focuses of the review were that during the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 were gastrointestinal disorders were accompanying.  Viral RNA and viral particles are found in feces for more than 30 days. Although SARS-CoV-2 primarily causes lung infection through binding to ACE2 receptors, intestinal epithelial cells, especially enterocytes of the small intestine, also express ACE2 receptors. It is also known that a respiratory viral infection causes disturbances in the gut microbiota. Diet, environmental factors, and genetics play an important role in the formation of gut microbiota, which can affect immunity. The diversity of gut microbiota diminishes in old age, and Covid-19 has been mostly fatal in older patients, further indicating the role that gut microbiota may play in this disease. It is therefore plausible that the gut microbiota could be a new therapeutic target and that probiotics could have a role in the management of these patients.