Analysis of syphilis incidence in the population of the Republic of Tatarstan in the pre- and post-COVID period
ZH.G. EREMEEVA1, 2, L.SH. SALYAHOVA2, R.Z. IBRAGIMOVA1, 3, G.G. VAFINA1, 3, E.V. BILDYUK1, 3, G.I. ZALYALOVA1, I.K. MINULLIN1
1Republic Clinical Dermatovenerology Dispensary, Kazan
2Kazan State Medical University, Kazan
3Kazan (Volga) Federal University, Kazan
Contact details:
Eremeeva Zh.G. — PhD (Medicine), epidemiologist, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine
Address: 4 Tolstoy St., 420012 Kazan, Russian Federation, tel.: +7-927-448-83-80, e-mail: Z.Eremeeva@tatar.ru
The purpose — to present the results of a retrospective analysis of syphilis incidence in the population of the Republic of Tatarstan in the pre- and post-COVID period.
Material and methods. Data from official statistical reports were analyzed. Extensive and intensive indicators, 95% confidence intervals, and Pearson’s χ² test, Student’s t-test, and Mann — Whitney U-test were calculated. The significance level was set at p < 0.001.
Results. The highest incidence rate of syphilis for the analyzed period was recorded in 2016 (716 cases or 18.5 per 100 thousand), and the lowest in 2020 (8.4 per 100 thousand). The average incidence of syphilis in two five-year periods (2016–2020 and 2021–2025) remained virtually unchanged: 13.18 versus 13.34 per 100,000 population (p = 0.93). The proportion of men increased from 58.45 to 66.62% (p < 0.001), while the proportion of women decreased from 41.55 to 33.38%. The proportion of children aged 0–1 year decreased from 0.62% to 0.04% (p = 0.0006) and of children aged 2–14 years — from 0.35 to 0.04% (p = 0.0084). The proportion of people in other age groups (18–29 years, 30–39 years, 40 years and older) remained virtually unchanged. In terms of social status, the proportion of unemployed people increased from 69.1 to 74.6% (p < 0.001). In the structure of clinical forms, the proportion of early syphilis decreased from 43.7 to 35.7% (p < 0.001), the proportion of late syphilis remained stable (33.3 and 33.2%, p = 0.942), while the proportion of other and unspecified forms increased from 22.4 to 31.0% (p < 0.001).
Conclusion. The retrospective analysis of syphilis incidence in the population, taking into account gender, age, social status, and clinical structure, provides the basis for optimizing preventive measures, including in risk groups.
Key words: syphilis, incidence, gender, age, social status, clinical forms
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