FEMALE MORTALITY IN RUSSIA

The aim of this paper was to analyze female mortality in Russia and to elucidate the potential causes of the time lag between gender-specific trends in mortality in the Russian Federation. Methods: We analysed the differences of temporal trends in mortality between residents of urban and rural areas, Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as the main causes of death among women in 1965, 1985, 2003, 2014 and 2018 using the data from the national statistical agency - Rosstat. Results: Our findings suggest that the slowdown in the decrease of female mortality originates from conditions and lifestyle during the period of Perestroika. The main contribution to the lag of changes in female mortality from male rates was made by cohort of women whose childhood and growing up took place in that period. Mortality from diseases of the digestive system increased by 11.9 % and mortality from infectious diseases increased by 170% in 35-44 years old women. Moreover, mortality from alcohol-attributable causes and injecting drug use has been increasing. Contribution of alcohol to female mortality is more pronounced in rural areas whole drug abuse affects urban women to a greater extent. Conclusions: The increased mortality of women aged 35-44 years after 2013 can be at least partly explained by the fact that health-related behaviour of this cohort of women was developed during the times of the social crisis.