Social factors and increase in mortality in Russia in the 1990s: prospective cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the association between social factors and the increase in mortality in Russia in the 1990s.


METHODS
Prospective population cohort study.


METHODS
Saint Petersburg, Russia.


METHODS
Two cohorts of men aged 40-59 years randomly selected from district voting list: 3907 screened in 1975-7 and 1467 in 1986-8.


METHODS
Education, various health related measures, alcohol intake. Mortality in subsequent 10 years.


RESULTS
There was no recorded increase in mortality in men with university degrees. The relative risk in the second cohort compared with the first was 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.67 to 1.24). For participants with only high school education it was significantly higher in the second cohort (1.32, 1.02 to 1.71). The most pronounced differences were found among participants with the lowest level of education, in which the relative risk was 1.75 (1.44 to 2.12). The same pattern held for coronary vascular disease and cancer mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
In Russia men in the lower socioeconomic groups were most affected by the sharp increases in mortality in the 1990s.
Plavinski
S L
SL
College of Public Health, Medical Academy for Postgraduate Studies, Saint Petersburg, Russia. splavinskij@mail.ru
Plavinskaya
S I
SI
Klimov
A N
AN
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000401:mortality; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis