Premature Death in the New Independent States by Committee on Population

Author:Committee on Population
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Behavioral and Social Sciences: Human Dimensions of Global Change. Behavioral and Social Sciences: Population and Fertility Studies
Publisher: NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Published: 1997-05-27T00:00:00+00:00

Diet. Dietary practices, such as a high proportion of fat in the diet or excessive caloric intake, could explain some of the cardiovascular disease in North FSE (see also the chapters by Popkin et al., Puska, and Pearson and Patel in this volume). Comparable data on hypertension and cholesterol, as well as smoking, are available from MONICA sites in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Russia (World Health Organization, 1994). Figures 6-6a and b show where these populations lie in terms of hypertension and cholesterol for males and females, respectively, compared with other MONICA sites in Europe and China. The figures show that there are a number of other populations in Europe with higher rates of hypertension and cholesterol. Nor do the observed levels explain the difference in past trends for males as compared with females, who presumably share a similar diet.

Pollution. It is difficult to blame rising adult male mortality on pollution in the face of declining child and adult female mortality, yet pollution could offer a partial explanation for the high levels of mortality among adult males in the region. Causes of death associated with air pollution, such as chronic respiratory disease and some cancers, do contribute to excess years of life lost. Attributing the excess to air pollution, however, would require substantially more evidence than has currently been marshaled.

Occupational Exposures. Medvedev (1985) has suggested that the rise in adult male mortality could be explained by occupational exposures in heavy industry. While this is a possibility, positive evidence has not been presented.

Health System. The health system cannot be blamed for increasing mortality among adult males in North FSE, but could be part of the reason for a higher level of adult male mortality in the region than in other parts of Europe. Given that the systems in South FSE and Central Asia are probably similar to if not worse than those in North FSE, the health system is unlikely to be the primary contributor to the problem. However, it is quite possible that adult mortality would be much lower with a better health system. Of note, the marked decline in noncommunicable disease mortality experienced since 1980 in West Europe among males and females has not occurred in North FSE. Perhaps some of this is due to medical technology that has not come into common use in the latter region.

Figure 6-6b

Hypertension and high total cholesterol among women.

Source: World Health Organization (1994).

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