Brimkulov, Nurlan, Louis Louton, Salima Sydykova, Denis Vinnikov, and Farida Imanalieva. Morbidity in the mountainous Province of Kyrgyzstan: Results from a population-based cross-sectional study. High Alt Med Biol 18:338-342, 2017.-The aim of this study was to identify the main causes of using primary care facilities in the mountainous Naryn Province of Kyrgyzstan to set resources allocation priorities. We collected data on all admissions to family doctors in three Family Medical Centers (FMCs) in Naryn Province: (1) the city of Naryn (2200 meters above sea level [MASL]); (2) the town of At-Bashy (3200 MASL); and the town of Kochkor (1800 MASL) by using an original questionnaire during one full week (5 days) in spring 2016. Within 1 week, we recorded 1136 cases in Naryn and 782 cases in Bishkek after exclusion of missing data. The top three reasons for admissions were respiratory (23% of all in Naryn and 36% in Bishkek), nonspecific general (19% and 17%), and neurological (13% and 9%). Naryn residents were 3.84 times (confidence interval [95% CI] 2.07-7.11) more likely to apply with musculoskeletal and 3.05 times (95% CI 1.02-9.12) more likely to apply with cardiovascular conditions. This first population-based study in Naryn stresses the need to prioritize cardiovascular and rheumatological care in these mountainous conditions.
Keywords: Naryn; family practice; healthcare utilization; high-altitude town; low-resource setting.