Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Approaches to the Assessment of Alcohol-Related Losses in the Russian Population

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Mortality in an International Perspective

Part of the book series: European Studies of Population ((ESPO,volume 18))

Abstract

Until recently, the level of alcohol-related losses in Russia was assessed using mortality from accidental poisoning by alcohol. Our study shows that currently the alcohol-related losses in Russia are determined primarily by degenerative diseases of alcoholic etiology. We show that partitioning of alcohol-related deaths into poisoning and somatic pathology (causes due to degenerative diseases related to alcohol abuse) provides important insights into the patterns of alcohol-related mortality. In particular, it shows that the use of accidental alcohol poisoning alone as an indicator of alcohol-related mortality leads to a significant underreporting of alcohol-related losses in Russia during the first decade of the twenty-first century.

The study of alcohol-related mortality in the Russian regions revealed areas of high risk for alcohol deaths and regions where deaths from alcohol poisoning or from somatic pathologies of alcoholic etiology are systematically underreported. Furthermore, the regional analysis provided us with an opportunity to assess how complete are the official statistics of alcohol-related losses in the Russian population. The existing legal framework in Russia and current diagnostic practices allow regional administrations to underreport socially significant losses including losses related to alcohol. There is no doubt that the establishment of uniform country-wide standards for reporting alcohol-related mortality will lead to a substantial increase in the scale of losses caused by alcohol. These measures are a necessary first step for developing effective programmes for the reduction of alcoholism in Russia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver dominated among the diseases of the gastrointestinal tract at any age.

  2. 2.

    Republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya were excluded from the regional analysis due to insufficient reliability of mortality data in these regions.

  3. 3.

    This pattern was also observed in 2008.

References

  • Andreev, E., & Zbarskaya, I. (2010). Alkogol kak prichina smerti (Alcohol as a cause of death. Electronic Journal). Demoskope Weekly, 425–426. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2010/0425/tema01.php (in Russian).

  • Ermakov, S. P., Antonyuk, V. V., Gavrilova, N. S., & Evdokushkina, G. N. (1999). Factographic automated information reference system (FAISS-“Potential”). In K. Peter (Ed.), Proceedings of the international collaborative effort on automating mortality statistics (Vol. 1, pp. 99–1252). Hyattsville: NCHS (DHHS Publication No. (PHS). 19-1-19-2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova, A. E., & Semyonova, V. G. (2005). Smertnost: Faktory, gruppy riska, otsenka poter (Mortality: factors, risk groups, estimation of losses). In V. N. Kuznetsov & L. L. Rybakovsky (Eds.), Strategiya demograficheskogo razvitiya Rossii (pp. 21–38) (Strategy for demographic development of Russia). Moscow: CSP (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova, A. E., & Semyonova, V. G. (2009). Tendentsii I territorialnye razlichiya smertnosti (Trends and regional differences in mortality). In L. L. Rybakovsky (Ed.), Demographic profiles of Russian regions (pp. 53–90). Moscow (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledermann, S. (1956). Alcohol, alcoholisme, alcoholisation. Paris: Press Univ. de France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledermann, S. (1964). Can one reduce alcoholism without changing total consumption in a population? 27th International Congress on Alcohol and Alcoholism. Frankfurt-am-Main.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leon, D. A., Saburova, L., Tomkins, S., Andreev, E., Kiryanov, N., McKee, M., & Shkolnikov, V. M. (2007). Hazardous alcohol drinking and premature mortality in Russia: A population based case-control study. The Lancet, 369, 2001–2009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leon, D. A., Shkolnikov, V. M., & McKee, M. (2009). Alcohol and Russian mortality: A continuing crisis. Addiction, 104, 1630–1636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leon, D. A., Shkolnikov, V., McKee, M., Kiryanov, N., & Andreev, E. (2011). Alkogol i smertnost ot bolezney sistemy krovoobrascheniya (Alcohol and mortality from circulatory diseases. Electronic Journal). Demoskop Weekly, 461–462. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2011/0461/tema05.php (in Russian).

  • Mäkelä, P., Valkonen, T., & Martelin, T. (1997). Contribution of deaths related to alcohol use to socioeconomic variation in mortality: Register based follow up study. British Medical Journal, 315, 211–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mckee, M., Shkolnikov, V. M., & Leon, D. A. (2001). Alcohol is Implicated in the fluctuations in cardiovascular disease in Russia since the 1980s. Annals of Epidemiology, 11(1), 1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemtsov, A. V. (1998). Tendentsii potrebleniya alkogolya i obuslovlennye alkogolem poteri zdorovya i zhizni v Rossii v 1946–1996 godi. (Trends in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related losses of health and life expectancy in Russia in 1946–1996 years). In A. K. Demin (Ed.), Alkogol i zdorove naseleniya Rossii. 1900–2000 (pp. 98–107). (Alcohol and public health in Russia. 1900–2000). Moscow: Russian Association of Public Health (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemtsov, A. V. (2001). Alkogolnaya smertnost v Rossii, 1980–90-e godi (p. 295). (Alcohol mortality in Russia, 1980–90s). Moscow: NALEX (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemtsov, A. V. (2003). Alkogolny uron regionov Rossii (p. 136) (Alcohol damage to Russia’s regions). Moscow: NALEX (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemtsov, A. V. (2004). Kogda zhe zakonchitsya marafon alkogolnoy smertnosti? (When will the end of the alcoholic marathon of deaths? Electronic Journal). Demoskope Weekly, 43–144. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2004/0143/tema01.php (in Russian).

  • Nemtsov, A. V. (2009). Alkogolnaya istoriya Rossii: noveyshy period (p. 320). (Alcohol history of Russia: The newest period). Moscow: Publishing house Librokom (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemtsov, A. V., & Sudakov, S. A. (2002). Smerti pri otravlenii alkogolem v regionah Rossiyskoy Federatsii v 1991–1997 vody (Death by alcohol poisoning in Russia’s regions in 1991–1997 years). Voprosy narkologii (Proceedings of Narcology), 5, 65–70 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Regions of Russia. Socio-economic indicators. (2010). Rosstat website. http://www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/b10_14p/IssWWW.exe/Stg/d03/23-05.htm.

  • Semyonova, V. G., Antonova, O. I., Evdokushkina, G. N., & Gavrilova, N. S. (2010). Poteri naseleniya Rossii v 2000–2008gg., obuslovlennye alkogolem: masshtaby, struktura, tendentsii (Losses of Russian population in 2000–2008 due to alcohol: size, structure, trends). Social Aspects of Public Health (electronic edition), 2(14). http://vestnik.mednet.ru/content/view/188/30 (in Russian).

  • Social Atlas of Russian regions. http://www.socpol.ru/atlas/overviews/demography/index.shtml.

  • Starodubov, V. I., Mikhailova, Yu V., & Ivanova, A. E. (Eds.). (2003). Health of the Russian population in a social context of the 1990s: Problems and prospects (p. 248). Moscow: Meditsina (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Starodubov, V. I., & Ivanova, A. E. (Eds.). (2012). Development of human potential in Russia and population health. Moscow: Litterra (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Weissman D., Dubrovina, E. V., & Redko, A. N. (2006). Informatsionnoe obespechenie issledovany po problemam smertnosti v Rossii (Information support for research on mortality in Russia). Obschestvennoe zdorove i profilaktika zabolevany (Public health and disease prevention), 6, 31–38 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaridze, D., Maximovitch, D., Lazarev, A., Igitov, V., Boroda, A., Boreham, J., Boyle, P., Peto, R., & Boffetta, P. (2009a). Alcohol poisoning is a main determinant of recent mortality trends in Russia: evidence from a detailed analysis of mortality statistics and autopsies. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38, 143–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaridze, D., Brennan, P., Boreham, J., Boroda, A., Karpov, R., Lazarev, A., Konobeevskaya, I., Igitov, V., Terechova, T., Boffetta, P., & Peto, R. (2009b). Alcohol and cause-specific mortality in Russia: A retrospective case-control study of 48,557 adult deaths. The Lancet, 373, 2201–2214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Statistics, Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 11, Dobrolubov St., Moscow, 127254, Russia

    V. G. Semyonova, T. P. Sabgayda & G. N. Evdokushkina

  2. Center for Demography and Economics of Ageing, NORC at the University of Chicago, 1155 E 60th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    N. S. Gavrilova

  3. Russian State Statistics Service, 39, Miasnitskaya St., Bldg. 1, Moscow, 107450, Russia

    O. M. Antonova & S. Yu Nikitina

Authors
  1. V. G. Semyonova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N. S. Gavrilova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. T. P. Sabgayda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. O. M. Antonova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. S. Yu Nikitina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. G. N. Evdokushkina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. G. Semyonova .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Jon Anson

  2. Vienna Institute of Demography Wittgenstein Centre, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria

    Marc Luy

Appendix

Appendix

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Semyonova, V., Gavrilova, N., Sabgayda, T., Antonova, O., Nikitina, S., Evdokushkina, G. (2014). Approaches to the Assessment of Alcohol-Related Losses in the Russian Population. In: Anson, J., Luy, M. (eds) Mortality in an International Perspective. European Studies of Population, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03029-6_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation