MORTALITY AMONG WORKING-AGE POPULATION IN RUSSIA UNDER CONDITIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Significance. High mortality rates among working-age population is one of the most important challenges to the development of the modern Russia, which has serious demographic and socio-economic consequences. At the beginning of 2021, the share of working-age population in the Russian total population added up to 56%. The purpose of the study is to analyze mortality among working-age population in Russia in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. The study is based on the information base formed by demographic and medical statistics on the basis of reports from the Federal State Statistics Service, Federal Service for Supervision on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare, World Health Organization, as well as analysis of relevant scientific publications. The study used general logical and analytical methods, methods of statistical, comparative and cartographic analysis. Results. During the pandemic, mortality rates in the Russian Federation increased by 340,279 people compared to 2019 (2,138,586 people or 14.6 per 1,000 population in 2020, 1,798,307 people or 12.3 per 1,000 population in 2019). The 2020 excess mortality using a five-year average method amounted to 288,006 people (2.0 per 1,000 population). The growth rate of mortality among male working-age population in 2020 added up 115% compared to 2019, and 119% - among female working-age population with the growth rates equaling to 15% and 19%, respectively. Discussion. Mortality among working-age population in 2020-2021 was influenced by a complex of factors (medical: circulating pathogen of the coronavirus infection, which is a trigger for chronic diseases, and temporary suspension of planned medical examinations and surgeries; socio-economic: high unemployment and low wages during the forced downtime of enterprises under the quarantine, difficult and dangerous working conditions, irrational work and rest regimen; behavioral: lifestyle in general, stress during the period of uncertainty about the end of the restrictive measures due to the pandemic, forced restrictions on contacts and movement, increased alcohol consumption). The mortality rate among male working-age population in Russia exceeds the one among their female peers 3.5 times. This is due to specifics of "male" employment, low resistance of men to socio-economic changes, disregard of health maintenance combined with behavioral risks and deviations. Conclusion. The main causes of death in the working-age cohort in Russia during the pandemic include cardiovascular diseases (30.6%), external causes (20.7%) and neoplasms (13.9%). Deaths from coronavirus infection COVID-19 rank sixth (4.9%) yielding precedency to deaths from diseases of the digestive system (9.8%), and deaths from certain infectious and parasitic diseases (5.6%). The share of deaths from COVID-19 among working-age population out of the total number of the COVID-19 deaths equals to 15.2%. However, with gender criterion considered, the difference is significant: 21.9% in males versus 8.3% in females, i.e. mortality among working-age males is 2.64 times higher.